TRS govt's poll promise of KG to PG free education' is still in nursery stage
Hyderabad: The TRS government’s poll promise of ‘KG to PG free education’ scheme isn’t a reality as it enters the third year.
The government has failed to come out with a base document on how to implement this scheme even after extending the deadline many times. The base document had to be prepared by December 2015.
After the base document, the government wants to evolve consensus among all stakeholders, incorporating their views on the modalities of the scheme.
Going by present conditions, it appears that the scheme may not see the light of day till the 2017-18 academic year, at the very least.
Deputy Chief Minister Kadiam Srihari, who holds the education portfolio, said, “The government is trying to launch the scheme in some schools on a pilot basis in the new academic year. We want a fool-proof policy and mechanism in place for the effective implementation of the scheme. The delay is because we didn’t want to implement it in haste, which will defeat the very purpose of the scheme.”
The major hindrance remains the government itself: It lacks clarity over what ‘KG to PG’ free education means. It has not decided whether the scheme would cover government educational institutions or private ones.
If it is to be restricted to government institutions, education is already free in these institutions. But there are few takers for government schools and junior colleges, due to poor facilities and teaching standards.
If the government wants to cover private schools, it is not in a position to pay private institutions due to financial constraints.The government is planning to construct residential schools with English medium (preferably CBSE syllabus) to launch the scheme.
That would take three to five years since the existing budgetary allocation isn’t sufficient. A major chunk of funds is going towards salaries and pensions for government teachers.
Due to financial constraints, it is avoiding implementation of even the 25 per cent Right to Education quota for poor in private schools as hundreds of crores are needed to pay the fees for students. Notwithstanding this, it is planning to provide free education from KG to PG for all students.
