‘Public” to be removed from the names of private schools if Union Government accepts the key clause of draft National Education Policy (NEP).
The key clause states that “Private schools will not use the word ‘public’ in their names in any communication, documentation or declaration of status. This change will be effected by all private schools within three years. Public schools will only be those that are funded publicly, i.e., government schools (including schools run by any body of the state) and government-aided schools,”
V K Shunglu, chairman of the Delhi Public School Education Society, said the recommendations of the Kasturirangan committee are part of a draft report on which comments have been sought. “We will consult all the stakeholders. DPS is not the only one which has got ‘public’ [in its name]. I think it is a very commonly used word by schools. So we have to coordinate with other stakeholders. And more than that, we have 200 such schools, we have to make a very measured response,”
The committee has noticed that the schools should be not-for-profit entities. Evidenced by their audited financial statements must be held for the same disclosure standards as section 8 companies.
“This will give clarity to parents that which schools are government, government-aided or private. Secondly, it will help the schools as people will be more aware and know the functioning of different schools better. There may be rules which apply to government schools but not to private ones. This will help the people understand better,” Manan Budhraja, administrator of Delhi’s Mother Divine Public School, said.
The panel also advocated that the complex nomenclature such as “deemed to be university”, “affiliating university”, and “unitary university” be phased out. Universities should be characterized only as public, private, or private-aided; and as multidisciplinary research universities or comprehensive teaching universities, the panel has suggested.
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