Private school students to become eligible for govt scholarships too
Private School Student will soon become eligible for various government scholarships as government has agreed to make its scholarships available to every student irrespective of where he reads, a delegation of Private Schools Association of Kashmir (PSAK) was informed after their interaction with JK Board of School Education (BOSE) officials.
A delegation of PSAK led by its chairman G N Var met BOSE chairperson Veena Pandita and Director Academic of BOSE Farooq Ahmad Peer, wherein both the sides discussed range of issues confronting the education sector.
The Association raised the issue of private school students being made non-eligible for Post and Pre-Matric government scholarships to which Director Academics said that the a revised notification will be published soon and all students irrespective of their schools will be made eligible.
“The scholarship is right of every student and government cannot deny any student this right just because he is studying in a private school,” said Var.
“Thankfully the officials have agreed and now all private school students will be eligible for scholarships too.”
The two sides also discussed the current school curriculum, which is not enough to meet national and global needs.
“The Board officials agreed to update the entire curriculum in tune with latest standards and while doing the exercise, Private School members will also be taken in confidence. Similar approach will also be taken when other vital decisions are taken,” said Var. “The new curriculum will be such that our students will get a head start in cracking the national level competitive exams.”
The BOSE chairperson also told the PSAK delegation that BOSE is mulling to organise a major conference wherein all stakeholders, academicians and experts will be invited and major issues confronting the education sector will be discussed.
The PSAK delegation stressed on the need to declare that all academic sessions in Kashmir division be closed in October so that November can become academically fully functional month.
“Due to frequent delays and weather vagaries we often lose much time after October. So if academic session is closed in October strictly according to an order, the following months can be utilised in best possible way,” said Var. “We also demanded that Class 11 exams be also included under Board as it has been observed that students do not read vigorously in this year.”
The Association said that more than 80 percent students in towns and cities are studying in private schools and government cannot ignore the vital contribution of these institutes. He thanked the officials for listening to their demands and promising overhaul in education sector and action to address vital issues soon.
KV Correspondent
