Upgrading schools must foot the extra bill: Minister

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI, APRIL 10. The State Government today ruled out applying different yardsticks to minority and majority run private schools in considering grants for paying teachers' salaries while upgrading their institutions.

Reversing the existing policy of non-funding the teachers' salary costs when private schools upgraded their status from high school to higher secondary school and so on, will mean an additional commitment of Rs. 1000 crores annually for the State, the Education Minister, Mr. K. Anbazhagan, told the Assembly.

Intervening in the discussions on the demands for his department, Mr. Anbazhagan, told the TMC member, Mr. Appavoo, that private schools, irrespective of the managements that run them, had been allowed to expand only on the condition that the government would not foot their additional teachers' salaries by way of a grant.

Increasing the grant component to such levels would also be unacceptable to institutions like the World Bank, the Minister said. There are several World Bank-aided projects in Tamil Nadu.

Refuting the TMC whip, Mr. C. Gnanasekaran's contention that the growth of matriculation schools in the State from 144 in 1984-85 to 1,641 in 1999-2000 had increased the craze for English medium schools, Mr. Anbazhagan said the government could not curb the growth of private schools as long as they fulfilled the requirements.

Stating that it was people's support which enabled the growth of matriculation schools, Mr. Anbazhagan said the need for introducing Tamil as the medium of instruction upto the primary level was an offshoot of government taking notice of the pedagogic implications of the spurt in the English medium matriculation schools.

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Section  : Regional
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