Aided schools worst performers

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, May 24

With 48.48 pass percentage in the matriculation examination of students from aided schools in the recently declared results by the PSEB, these schools were the worst performers among various categories of schools.

The PSEB conducted matriculation examinations of 3,30,437 students across the state. Of these, 1,90,001 students passed. These students appeared from different categories of schools. There were affiliated schools with maximum pass percentage of 70.08 per cent, followed by associated schools with 55.76 pass percentage, government schools with 52.80 pass percentage and Adarsh Schools with 57.40 pass percentage.

Members of the Government Aided School Teachers’ Union claimed that students of government-aided schools were being deprived of quality education. On the other hand, teachers of government-aided schools were getting salaries after months of agonising wait. In addition, there is an acute shortage of equipment and quality infrastructure to aid the educational needs of students, they remarked.

The government provides 95 per cent grant-in-aid while the rest of the five per cent is shared by managing committees of respective schools. Teachers of these schools complained of being overburdened as 60 per cent posts are lying vacant.

About 9,468 posts were sanctioned to 508 schools in the state and it was claimed that 24 schools have either been closed or are on the verge of closure.

In 2003, the Congress government led by Capt Amarinder Singh stopped the pension and also banned the filling of vacant posts of these schools. These steps led to deterioration in the quality of education in these schools.

The union reasoned that the panacea for several ills plaguing the government-aided schools was in their merger with the government’s Education Department.