Editor,
Every year when the MBOSE declares the results of class X, a good number of schools in and around Shillong mint huge amounts of money by selling the prospectus. Quite a few are missionary run schools whose earlier motto was to reach out to the unreached. For the last few years, such a school has been selling as many as 3000 to 4000 prospectuses at the rate of Rs. 300 apiece. This year too the school has sold over 3000 prospectuses a month prior to the declaration of results. The intake capacity for class XI in that school is about 400 students for all the three streams (Science, Commerce and Arts). My question to the school authority is why do they charge so much money for one prospectus and why sell so many prospectuses when they know that the intake capacity is only 400? Isn’t this an easy way of minting money which is unaccounted for by the school authorities? The important thing in the prospectus is only the application form which is a single sheet which should not could even Rs 10.
Imagine a school selling 3000 prospectus at the rate of Rs. 300 and earning an additional income of Rs. Nine lakhs within a period of one month. Can the authorities say where all this extra income goes? I am very sure it is not used for enhancing the salary of the teachers who work tirelessly and with dedication and commitment.
It is true that when the class X results are declared, the parents are desperate to get admission for their sons and daughters in various schools. In the process, they seldom realize that they are being short-changed by these elite schools/colleges. It’s time for these church run institutions to revisit their ideology and see if they still meet those of their patron saints. It’s time to stop this illegal way of minting money from ordinary people who live from hand to mouth? And Government cannot be blind to all these goings-on because this too is extortion!
Yours etc.,
Diana Pala
Shillong
Regulate private hostels
Editor,
Mr Nesfield Sangma has brought up an important issue in his letter “Mushrooming of hostels” (ST 18.5.13). As a student, I too have seen that most private hostels are running without proper management. They are simply exploiting poor students who come to Shillong for their studies. The atmosphere in many private hostels is not conducive for studies. Fees are very high and result in financial stress for students from middle class families. The living conditions are bad with 3 to 4 people crammed in one small room with inadequate facilities. There is little or no restriction about visitors and timings. Consumption of intoxicants and smoking is commonplace in such hostels. This is not a healthy environment for students. Something must be done immediately by government to regulate this.
Shillong being the educational hub of the north-east requires special attention from the government to create a healthy environment for students. To start with, a regulatory body should be set up to assess students’ housing requirements and to monitor the functioning of private hostels. A strategy to overcome student housing shortfall in the city through creation of adequate infrastructure needs to be put in place. Government must list some basic criteria for opening a hostel in terms of location, infrastructure, fees and management. Periodic inspections should be carried out by this body to ensure compliance. Illegal hostels must be fined heavily and closed down. I humbly request Dr Mukul Sangma to help the student community in Shillong by looking into this matter with urgency.
Yours etc.,
Y. A. Singh
N.E.H.U, Shillong.