TPF round-table in Nizamabad seeks fee regulation, better school infrastructure

A round-table conference in Nizamabad on Saturday saw members of the Telangana People's Front (TPF), educationists and activists press for stronger action on deficiencies in government schools and for checks on the rising cost of private education in the State.

The discussion was held as part of the TPF's 12-day Education Bus Yatra, which is centred on school education and on efforts to strengthen public education and regulate private school fees. Ahead of the round-table, the team spent the night of September 18 at a government school in Abbapur, Nizamabad district, under a programme called 'Badi Nidra', to draw attention to the state of school infrastructure.

Akunuri Murali, a TPF member and former Chairperson of the Telangana Education Commission, said India had historically placed education beyond the reach of large sections of the population. He said nearly all of the 30,099 schools listed under UDISE in Telangana lacked the standard infrastructure needed for a functional school, and called for greater public attention to educational deprivation. The Commission, he noted, had defined infrastructure and academic standards for educational institutions in its report to the State government.

TPF core committee member M. Champalal questioned how effective a website would be in addressing fee regulation in private schools, and instead sought the enactment of a Fee Regulation Act along with a regulatory body to enforce it.

Dalit Bahujan Front leader P. Shankar asked the State government to issue a white paper on the education sector, setting out the steps taken over the past three years to improve government schools. He also asked why the education policy report submitted by the Telangana Education Commission had not been tabled, while the Kaleswaram Commission report had been.

TPF core committee member Srujana Yadav stressed the need for greater participation of women in education reforms, describing their involvement as essential to meaningful change in the sector.

Summing up, Mr. Murali set out a three-part model for developing a prototype school. The first part would address infrastructure and create a dignified learning environment for children; the second would cover teaching-learning materials and Interactive Flat Panels in classrooms to support quality teaching; and the third would take in extra-curricular activities aimed at students' overall development.