Thursday, December 16, 2010

[ZESTCaste] Government leaves SC/ST students in lurch

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_government-leaves-sc-st-students-in-lurch_1481784

Government leaves SC/ST students in lurch

Published: Thursday, Dec 16, 2010, 1:57 IST
By Rosy Sequeira | Place: Mumbai | Agency: DNA

In a case relating to the ill-treatment of students from backward
classes by private aided schools because the state has stopped
reimbursing them, the Bombay high court was informed on Wednesday that
the payments have been halted as it was found that the schools are
fleecing the exchequer by submitting exorbitant bills. There are 1.15
lakh such students in the city.

A division bench was hearing a petition filed by Naresh Gosavi and
other parents stating that since the government has failed to release
grants under the free education scheme, the schools are not permitting
children to attend classes.

An affidavit filed by Uttam Lonare, deputy director of the social
welfare department (SWD), states that bills submitted by schools in
Mumbai are inordinately higher than those of the rest 33 districts in
the state.

A financial irregularity was noticed wherein Rs45 crore was released
by some officials without the mandatory sanction of the social justice
department (SJD), the affidavit states. An inquiry against these
officers is in progress.

Following the irregularity, the secretary of the SJD, on April 4 last
year, instructed that the government will not sanction reimbursement
of higher fees.

Lonare in his affidavit said a committee of four secretaries was
formed in February, which will take the final decision.

Lonare also stated that the education officer, Greater Mumbai, has
directed school managements that no student can be stopped from
attending school. He concluded that the government takes
responsibility of reimbursing fees of schools which charge as per the
laid down fee structure, but is not liable to pay higher fees.

Government pleader D Nalawade argued that after the irregularity was
noticed in 2009, the figures for Greater Mumbai have come down to
Rs16.17 lakh, from Rs670 lakh the year before. "We don't want schools
to profiteer while students in the rest of Maharashtra are deprived,''
he said.

The petitioners' advocate, Gayatri Singh, countered Nalawade's
argument by saying, "This [enquiry] is nothing but victimisation of
lower rank officers because the bills were sanctioned by senior
officers from the SWD in accordance with government resolution of
1976, by which the government is required to reimburse education
expenses of backward category students.

"These reimbursements were suddenly stopped in 2007,'' she added.

Nalavade submitted that the committee has proposed to fix the fees at
the rate of Rs100 per student monthly for Std 1-4, Rs150 for Std 5-7
and Rs200 for Std 8-10, which will be put before the cabinet for
approval.

Singh said that earlier each students were reimbursed between
Rs300-500 per month, but after 2007, this was reduced to a mere Rs5-7
per student, and the government even began to retrospectively recover
the 'lost' money from schools. The next hearing is on December 21.


------------------------------------

----
INFORMATION OVERLOAD?
Get all ZESTCaste mails sent out in a span of 24 hours in a single mail. Subscribe to the daily digest version by sending a blank mail to ZESTMedia-digest@yahoogroups.com, OR, if you have a Yahoo! Id, change your settings at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/join/

PARTICIPATE:-
On this list you can share caste news, discuss caste issues and network with like-minded anti-caste people from across India and the world. Just write to zestcaste@yahoogroups.com

TELL FRIENDS TO SIGN UP:-
If you got this mail as a forward, subscribe to ZESTCaste by sending a blank mail to ZESTCaste-subscribe@yahoogroups.com OR, if you have a Yahoo! ID, by visiting http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/join/

Also have a look at our sister list, ZESTMedia: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/

<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional

<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/join
(Yahoo! ID required)

<*> To change settings via email:
ZESTCaste-digest@yahoogroups.com
ZESTCaste-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
ZESTCaste-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

No comments:

Post a Comment