Pvt schools to observe ‘black day’ on Oct 12

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 5

The National Independent Schools Alliance (NISA), a federation of the associations of budget private schools, today announced that private schools associated with it across the country would observe Black Day on October 12 in protest against increasing government interference in day-to-day functioning of schools.

Kulbhushan Sharma, national president of the federation, said the teaching and non-teaching staff of nearly 60,000 schools across the country would wear black ribbons and black flags would be put on school gates and school buses.

“There seems to be a conspiracy against private-unaided schools. Rules are being framed to discriminate on the basis of affiliation, status and infrastructure. We are being harassed by various government bodies for one reason or the other,” Sharma alleged.

He said private schools would hold peaceful protest on October 12 and send memorandum of demands to PM Narendra Modi.

“If our demands are not heard, we will intensify our protest,” he said.

He alleged that several schools were being closed across the country on account of impractical input-based recognition norms.

He said the schools were being forced to admit children belonging to economically weaker section (EWS) but they were not being reimbursed.

Sharma alleged that teachers and other staff of private schools were being harassed in the name of police verification, although 80 per cent of the teaching and non-teaching staff were women.

He said management and principals of the schools were being penalised for accidents.

Referring to the tragic incident of the death of a student at Ryan International School in Gurugram, Sharma said school safety guidelines from CBSE, court, state education department and police, differed from each other.