NAVNEET DUBEY
Jammu: In Jammu and Kashmir, 87% of students pay school fees, which is 30% more than the national average. This statistic highlights a notable trend in the region regarding school fee payments. However, on the contrary only 57.1 percent of students pay such charges at the national level. J&K has a mix of government and private schools with varying fee structures.
As per official figures in higher secondary- 100% of students in J&K reported expenditure on course fees compared to 85.9% nationally. At secondary level- 98.7% of students in both rural and urban areas reported paying fees. In rural areas 85% of students (87.7% males, 81.7% females) paid fees while in urban areas- 96.1% of students (95.9% males, 96.3% females) paid fees.
The figures further revealed that in the rural areas of Jammu and Kashmir, 85 percent students including 87.7 percent males and 81.7 percent females enrolled in school reported expenditure on course fees by level of current enrolment.
At higher secondary level, the official figures reveal that the students in Jammu and Kashmir reported 100 percent expenditure on course fees by level of current enrolment. However, the national average at the senior secondary level is only 85.9 percent. Similarly, at the secondary level 98.7 percent of students at both rural and urban areas reported expenditure on course fees by level of current enrolment.
Other day the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly led by its chairman Sham Lal Sharma and members while reviewing audit paras pertaining to the School Education Department stressed the importance of disseminating quality education to students enrolled in government schools for overall improvement of the education scenario in Jammu and Kashmir.
It also called for fast recruitment to fill vacant posts and instructed the concerned departments to expedite the process of referring vacancies to recruitment agencies. The Committee further underlined the need to fix responsibility on officers for delays in creation of infrastructure, which has caused an undue lag in extending benefits to students under various schemes.
The Chairman directed the concerned authorities to rationalize staff across schools and ensure that students in remote areas have access to quality education and all required facilities. The Committee also directed the administration to conduct a fresh safety audit of all school buildings and related infrastructure, particularly in flood-affected areas, and to take immediate safety measures to safeguard lives.
PAC members called for timely completion of ongoing projects and urgent attention to the maintenance of damaged school buildings for the convenience of students. Stressing the importance of providing the best possible facilities to students, the Committee recommended adopting vertical construction models for the judicious use of available land.
J&K has a mix of government and private schools with varying fee structures. For example, Kendriya Vidyalayas have annual fees around Rs 12,025 for Class 12 (CBSE), while some private schools like Delhi Public School have higher fees (Rs 104,015 for Class 12).
