Punjab board to hand over 11 Adarsh schools to govt, after ₹32-cr loss a yr
MOHALI: The Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) that runs 11 Adarsh schools, meant to provide admission to brilliant students even if they are poor, has decided to hand over the charge of all these to the government, following sustained losses.
The Badals had started the schools. Schools in Bathinda, Mukstar, Faridkot, Amritsar and Nawanshahar will be handed over to the government.
The PSEB spends ~34 crore on these schools every year, but earns revenue of mere ~1.5 crore, for a net loss of ~32.5 crore a year.
Board chairman Krishan Kumar, who is also the state education secretary, chaired the meeting where the decision to hand over the institutes to the government was taken.
“Adarsh schools are becoming a liability for the board as there are hardly any returns. Their expenditure is a big hole on the board’s budget. Primarily the board’s job is to conduct examination, publish books and we will stick to it,” said a senior officer.
The board also decided to abolish the equivalency certificate, granted to the students by the PSEB, after verifying that the student has studied from a board equivalent to that of Punjab board. The board charges ~500 for the certificate.
“How can we verify the authenticity of the board when it is already approved by the highest education authorities of India and recognised by other states. What for we charging the money from the students?,” a senior official said at the meeting.
GOLDEN CHANCE
The PSEB has also decided to do way with the golden chance rule and to bring in free supplementary examinations for the students every year.
“Previously, it was the discretion of the chairman of the board to take the proposal to the government whether to give the students a golden chance or not. The process was arbitrary,” said a senior official.
He added that the board was preparing a proposal to abolish golden chance rule and to implement free supplementary chances every year for the students.
OFFICIALS TO STUDY OTHER STATES' MODEL
Officials have been ordered to study the models of other states and recommend how the current examination system can be overhauled.
Till now only the government school teachers were on duty for examinations but the board will also look to bring in teachers from other affiliated schools for examination duty.
A senior board official said, “There is a serious problem of evaluating the answer sheets teachers take the these home and get family members to evaluate these. This is the situation we have been facing for long.”