The Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly passing the Arunachal Pradesh PrivateEducational Institutions (Regulatory Commission) Bill, 2017 is a landmark decision which will leave a huge imprint on the education scene.
The bill provides for establishment of a Regulatory Commission and Regulatory mechanism in the state for the purpose of ensuring appropriate standard of admission, teaching, examination, research and protection of interest of students in the Private Educational Institutions and related matters.
Till now under the non-existent and fluid system, opening private schools has been very easy which doesn’t require any prior permission or intimation to the government or the education department, and under this viable condition, has flourished across the state.
Reports available of 7 districts, reveals a total of 129 unregistered schools of which 68 are in Papum Pare district alone. Outside the administrations inspection and jurisdiction, these private schools enjoy great autonomy and lack transparency. Safe from scrutiny, schools function without meeting required norms both in infrastructure and quality.
Regulatory mechanism is therefore highly necessary in view of mushrooming of private institutions in the state, malfunctioning of these institutions, besides issue of fake certificates by private universities.
The decision if implemented will be a milestone in the education field and will help the government and the education department to keep a tab on the prolific mushrooming of private schools, which often function without any rules and guidelines.
With registration made mandatory, the state will be able to keep an eye on these institutions and ensure safety of its students.
All said, the government must also own up to its failures and take responsibility for private schools spurting all around. This situation is largely because government run schools have become synonymous with poor education. Despite having huge resources at its disposal, the state has not been able to deliver qualitative education. In this backdrop, private schools have cashed in on the craze for English-medium and quality education—and who can fault them!
The government now must see to it that its decision is implemented in letter and spirit. Only then will it be able to right the wrong that it has done.