Parents’ assn irked over extra subjects

Tribune News Service

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Chandigarh, February 25

Private schools in the city are prescribing extra subjects to students of Classes I and II for the 2020-21 academic session, which is against the orders of the UT Education Department that limits the number of subjects to a few.

Due to surplus subjects being prescribed in primary classes, the bag-weight policy of the UT has also gone for a toss.

The issue has been brought forth by the Chandigarh Parents Association. They have recently submitted a written complaint — “violation of child rights by prescribing extra subjects and non-NCERT textbooks for kindergarten and primary classes in violation of the orders of the Education Department and various High Courts” — to the Chandigarh Commission for Protection of Child Rights (CCPCR).

The Ministry of Human Resource and Development (MHRD) had intimated the orders of the Madras High Court to all states and union territories. Consequently, the District Education Officer had passed directions to the principals of all schools, in September 2018, not to prescribe any other subjects except language and mathematics for Classes I and II and only language, EVS and mathematics for Classes III to V, as prescribed by the NCERT.

Nitin Goyal, president of the CPA, wrote: “Almost all private schools in Chandigarh are flouting the directions and multiple subjects, along with non-NCERT textbooks, are being prescribed to students. This is partly out of profit motive and partly to satisfy parents as customers by making them believe that their child is getting value for money by learning so many things.”

The parents’ body has mentioned the book lists of three private schools in the complaint.

“A bare perusal of these lists of subjects/ books prescribed by these private schools reveals that additional subjects such as computer/technology, arts & craft, moral science and GK are introduced in early classes, even at the kindergarten level in some cases. The list of Sector 25-based school reveals that 12 textbooks (exclusive of other stationary) are prescribed for nursery and 13 textbooks for junior KG class. The CBSE allows only three books even in Class I,” read the complaint.

Burden of textbooks

The parents’ association also highlighted that schools do not use NCERT books and ask students to purchase two to three books of each subject, in addition to workbooks and notebooks, that amounts to the financial burden on parents. “It directly results in heavy weight of school bags affecting physical as well as mental health of children in the long run,” stated the complainant.