BENGALURU: While the education department is yet to take decision on resuming physical classes, rural schools have approached the governor regarding the issue and threatened to surrender their licences if they are not allowed to start classes. As schools are closed for 16 months, they said that children are deprived of education. They also complained about the inequality in the education department’s approach to private schools. “Students in government schools are given free books, clothes and food.
However, the same facilities are not provided to students in private schools who study under RTE,” they said. The administrators also said that for years, they have requested authorities to provide mid-day meal to underprivileged students in private schools, but their pleas fell on deaf ears. Citing the recent economic survey, Registered Unaided Private Schools Management Association (RUPSA) said that due to the pandemic, the middle class has become financially distressed.
“The education department is attracting children to government schools with mid-day meals,” they said and alleged that the government is not even informing the private schools about the students’ transfer. Additionally, the schools said that several are reeling under financial crisis, and parents are not willing to pay unless physical classes start and the government is also not reimbursing the RTE amount. “We are still paying out staff salaries. Our very existence is at stake,” they lamented.