Aided status to special schools for bribes: VS Achuthanandan

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Cabinet decision to grant aided status to special schools is with an eye to receiving huge bribes in appointment of teachers, alleged Opposition Leader V. S. Achuthanandan. The appointment to such schools should be routed through the PSC, he demanded.

He said the government had issued two orders in connection with special schools indicating its dubious intentions.

The order issued by the government in May had stated that schools with 100 students would be given aided status. However, the second order states that  50 students were enough for upgrading these as aided institutions.

The Opposition leader said the three-member committee, which went into the issue, had clearly recommended a minimum of 100 cents of land for such schools.

Even this criterion had now been changed to 20 cents in urban centres and 50 cents in villages. He said to provide facilities like classrooms, playgrounds, physiotherapy room, speech therapy room, headmaster’s room, staff room, visitors’ room, library and 1:5 toilets in a school comprising 50 students would require a minimum of 50 cents of land.