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Haryana: Private schools witness 42% decline in enrollments this year
Haryana: 42% dip in private school enrollments as 12.5 lakh students fail to register

Haryana: Private schools witness 42% decline in enrollments this year

Jul 03, 2021
11:39 am

What's the story

Haryana has seen a 42% dip in enrollments at the state's private schools compared to last year as at least 12.51 lakh private school students failed to register for the current academic year even three months after it commenced. Alarmed over the development, in a directive to district officials, Haryana's Directorate of School Education (DSE) expressed apprehensions these "missing" students could have dropped out.

DSE issues directive

Only 17.31 lakh students registered with private schools this year

According to data provided by private schools to the Haryana Education Department, only 17.31 lakh students so far enrolled for the 2021-22 academic year compared to 29.83 registrations last year. DSE's directive to district officials says, "Hold meetings with heads/managements of private schools to get updated the data of these 12.51 lakh students so that the apprehensions of their dropping out can be minimized."

Possible reasons

Some students likely to have dropped out amid COVID-19 lockdown

However, officials feel private schools themselves might have not enrolled some of these "missing" students due to fee issues. Meanwhile, some students would've either shifted to government schools or dropped out over the lack of access to online education amid the COVID-19-induced lockdown. Especially, students from rural areas might find it difficult to continue their education. Also, the pandemic has left many parents jobless.

Details

Dip in enrollments is surprising, says Haryana Education Minister

Haryana's Education Minister Kanwar Pal Gurjar told TheIndianExpress the "huge gap" in enrollments was surprising, adding, "We will get the issue examined." But some feel many students haven't enrolled themselves believing schools won't open this year, too. Children of laborers and migrant workers might not have registered as their parents either lost jobs or returned to native places due to the lack of work.

Government schools

Private schools blame government schools for decline in enrollments

Meanwhile, private schools say government schools' intensified efforts to attract more children is a major reason for the dip. "Get your children admitted to government schools to avoid the heavy fees of private schools," some government school teachers can be seen saying in a video on social media, urging parents in Haryana's Bhatta village to send kids to fully-staffed government schools with hardworking teachers.

SLC condition

Private school body attacks government schools over SLC rules violation

Furthermore, Kulbhushan Sharma, Haryana's President of the Federation of Private Schools' Welfare Association, hit out at government schools for admitting students irrespective of whether they have the mandatory school leaving certificate (SLC) from their previous institution, violating the existing rules. Moreover, the National Independent Schools Alliance that represents budget private schools sought the Punjab and Haryana High Court's intervention on the SLC issue.

Details

We haven't done way with SLC condition: Government official

On the other hand, government officials say no student can be denied admission in government schools until Class-8 and they're only acting according to the Right to Education Act provisions. "We have not done away with the (condition) of SLC and...admit students on a provisional basis (so that there's no break in their education)," Haryana Additional Chief Secretary (School Education) Mahavir Singh told TheIndianExpress.

Teachers left jobless

Many teachers are jobless as private schools exhaust resources: Sharma

Sharma also said many teachers in the state are now jobless as private schools exhaust their financial resources amid the pandemic-induced lockdown and blamed the government for the same. "Private school owners were hoping that the government would come to their rescue and some sort of relief package would be announced for them, but all such hopes have come crashing down," he said.