Nawanshahr, July 21:- Due to the closure of the facilities running in the school in School of Eminence Nawanshahr over the issue of extra fees, there was an atmosphere of concern among the students and their parents when 11 teachers and 5 maintenance staff hired by the principal were relieved from their services. Due to this, the students had to return home deprived of many facilities.
School of Eminence Nawanshahr used to take school development fund under the Punjab Government's letter No. 83660 issued on August 14, 2012, which was given only by the parents of some students. On the basis of this fund, additional facilities were being provided to the students under the Punjab Government's education policy, which is now being affected.
According to the information received, a total of 1,480 students are currently studying in the school from primary wing to 12th class. Of these, 93 are in 9th class, 129 in 10th class, 346 in 11th class and 279 in 12th class, a total of 847 students are in senior classes, from whom the issue of taking Rs 5,000 per student as school development fund has been in discussion.
A large number of parents who gathered in the school today also came to know that out of 847, about 150 students are either charged less fee or the fee has been completely waived. This includes those students who do not have a father or mother, their parents have divorced, other siblings in the house also study in the same school or there is a serious illness in the family.
On the other hand, out of the Rs 5,000 fee being collected from 697 students, Rs 3,000 goes to the Punjab government's account, while the remaining Rs 2,000 annually (about Rs 180 per month) was used by the principal to hire 11 teachers and 5 maintenance staff at his own level. Through these, additional academic support, CCTV surveillance, lifts and other facilities were provided to the students.
Apart from this, a cash prize of Rs 3,100 was also given to the meritorious student in class 8, Rs 5,100 to the meritorious holder of class 10 and Rs 11,000 to the meritorious student of class 12. Last year, a student named Jasneet Kaur, who had secured merit in class 10, was also given a free educational tour of Bengaluru by air.
According to the parents, after the parents of 143 out of 697 students protested a few days ago, the principal removed 11 teachers and 5 maintenance staff and started the process of refunding the extra fees of 143 students. Meanwhile, 9 teachers from other districts were also transferred by the Punjab government, while new teachers have not been posted in their place yet.
The parents said that out of 81 sanctioned posts in the school, 34 posts have fallen vacant, which is severely affecting the education system.
According to the information, only 1 post out of 9 posts in the vocational department has been filled, while 8 are vacant. In the lecturer cadre, 1 post of Physics, 3 posts of English, 1 post of Punjabi, 2 posts of Hindi, 2 posts of History, 1 post of Economics and 2 posts of Commerce are vacant. In the master cadre, 3 posts of Mathematics, 2 posts of Punjabi, S.S.T. 3 posts of B.E., 1 of Art and Craft and 2 posts of D.P.E. are vacant. With 31 posts already vacant and 3 more posts vacant today, a total of 34 posts are vacant, which is directly affecting the education and facilities of the students.
The parents of 554 students who gathered in the school today said that they have no objection to giving Rs 2,000 per year as school development fund at the rate of Rs 180 per month. They said that while private schools have to pay Rs 5,000 per month as fees, they are ready to give more development funds to the School of Eminence, if this ensures that the children continue to get good education and facilities.
The parents appealed to the school administration to re-appoint the removed teachers and maintenance staff, because facilities like CCTV are also related to the safety of the girl students. He also appealed to the Punjab government to quickly make new appointments in place of the transferred teachers so that the future of the students is not affected.