Perform or perish, private schools in Hyderabad told

Hyderabad: Under-performing state board private schools in Hyderabad have been served an ultimatum by the district administration to “perform or perish” this academic year. The government has served show cause notices to private schools in the city with aggregate pass percentage of less than 50 per cent, asking why they shouldn’t be closed down. However, school managements put the blame squarely on parents, and say that most of these schools are in the old city.

Out of 829 state board private schools in Hyderabad, 75 have poor Class X records. The aggregate pass percentage in Board exams in these schools stands below the 50 per cent mark. Hyderabad district collector K. Nirmala told these schools that they would be shut down if their record doesn’t improve this year. Education department officials have asked schools to let their teachers take responsibility for individual students, so that their academic abilities improve.

“Parents pay exorbitant fees and trust private schools to deliver results. A lot of these schools are not faring any better than government schools,” Ms Nirmala told schools. Hyderabad education officer M. Somi Reddy said, “The academic record is very bad in many schools. Just two or three students out of 10 or 20 pass the Board exams. The schools are blaming parents and giving trivial reasons, but the school management is responsible.”

Mr Somi Reddy also said that schools have been asked to identify students’ weaknesses in the next 15 days and initiate special classes for them. “Notices have been served to them based on past years’ records. We will see the results in the upcoming Board exams. If the same trend continues, schools will have to be shut down.”

However, schools lay the blame on parents. School managements even go to the length of singling out the old city area for poorly performing schools. S. Srinivasa Reddy, president, Telangana Recognised School Managements’ Association, said, “Results depend on various factors. These schools are mostly located in slum areas or in the old city. Parents generally don’t cooperate with the school. The students’ attendance is poor and they often come to school late because they sleep late.” He said private schools strive for results and lack of cooperation from parents is a hindrance.