State okays common curriculum in schools

The State Education Department on Tuesday finally surrendered and agreed to convey a visible change in the education system by providing common school curriculum to children hailing from all strata of society.

Dr Vivek Korde, President of Forum Against Commercialization of Education ended his hunger strike on Tuesday after the government decided that the education department shall frame a committee to increase the financial limit of Ecnomically Backward Class (EBC). A 10- member delegation of Forum Against Commercialisation of Education, met Education Minister Rajendra Darda on Tuesday to place their demands.

Dr. Korde has been protesting against the commercialisation of education for the past seven years. Welcoming the decision Korde said, " The minister has agreed to conceptualise a skeletal administration to maintain transparency in the admission procedure.

Also, he stated that the ministry has been working on the Fee Regulation Act to counter the abrupt fee hike by schools. In 1992, a committee was framed to contrive the Fee Regulating Act as well as to increase the EBC limit, which had fixed the EBC limit at Rs. 15, 000." He further added, " the education minister had now promised to place the EBC demand before the committee which was framed in October 2010 under the chairmanship of School Education Secretary to regulate the fee structure as well as increase the EBC limit at Rs 1, 00, 000, per annum. Centralising the admission procedure will pave the way for poor parents who wish to admit their children in schools.

The State Government has also agreed to regulate the fee structure for the pre- primary education system. We are here to build an egalitarian society with the motive of common school and curriculum to children." The ten- member delegation comprised Dr. Shyam Pokhle, Dr. Deven Naik, Hema Shirke, MLA Prashant Thakur, Appa Terde, Sushila Raka, Jayant Diwan, Principal P. G. Chavan, Jaytundi Pothirwale and Atmaram Patil.