Not aware of any notice proposing PPP model for schools Bengal edu minister
Kolkata Feb 19 PTI West Bengal Education Minister Bratya Basu on Saturday said he did not have information about any draft prepared by his department proposing a Public-Private Partnership PPP model for schools a day after Left-leaning organisations threatened to wage a protest against any such moveAn unsigned and undated notice bearing the school education departments name surfaced on social media recently stating that the government as part of its expansion plans intended to operationalise schools through a PPP modelBasu talking to reporters here at an event stated that no meeting was held in this regard by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and it would be wrong to make assertions by anyone based on speculationsI dont have information of any such draft or notice The chief minister did not discuss anything in this matter with me So what is the basis the minister saidAsked if the notice was a fake one Basu however said We will look into it A senior education department official had told PTI on Friday that its principal secretary Manish Jain in a letter to heads of other allied departments had last month sought their opinion on the PPP model for schoolsThe official had also noted that the government in the face of protests would now carefully watch the situation before making a moveThe draft that was circulated on social media said Whereas to merge the best practices of both government and private schools the School Education Department Government of West Bengal GoWB intends to operationalize schools through Public Private Partnership PPP model and leverage unused infrastructure of the governmentWhereas a need is felt to encourage the private investors in school education sector by extending more flexible Government contribution in the form of Public Private Partnership mode where the State Government may provide land or building or infrastructures and other amenities to the investors Several Left-affiliated organisations of students and teachers including the SFI had on Friday stated that they would stage protests in different schools and colleges if the government went ahead with any such planThe agitators claimed that the idea if implemented would deprive many students especially the underprivileged ones of basic education with private players calling the shots PTI SUS RMS RMS
Kolkata Feb 19 PTI West Bengal Education Minister Bratya Basu on Saturday said he did not have information about any draft prepared by his department proposing a Public-Private Partnership PPP model for schools a day after Left-leaning organisations threatened to wage a protest against any such moveAn unsigned and undated notice bearing the school education departments name surfaced on social media recently stating that the government as part of its expansion plans intended to operationalise schools through a PPP modelBasu talking to reporters here at an event stated that no meeting was held in this regard by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and it would be wrong to make assertions by anyone based on speculationsI dont have information of any such draft or notice The chief minister did not discuss anything in this matter with me So what is the basis the minister saidAsked if the notice was a fake one Basu however said We will look into it A senior education department official had told PTI on Friday that its principal secretary Manish Jain in a letter to heads of other allied departments had last month sought their opinion on the PPP model for schoolsThe official had also noted that the government in the face of protests would now carefully watch the situation before making a moveThe draft that was circulated on social media said Whereas to merge the best practices of both government and private schools the School Education Department Government of West Bengal GoWB intends to operationalize schools through Public Private Partnership PPP model and leverage unused infrastructure of the governmentWhereas a need is felt to encourage the private investors in school education sector by extending more flexible Government contribution in the form of Public Private Partnership mode where the State Government may provide land or building or infrastructures and other amenities to the investors Several Left-affiliated organisations of students and teachers including the SFI had on Friday stated that they would stage protests in different schools and colleges if the government went ahead with any such planThe agitators claimed that the idea if implemented would deprive many students especially the underprivileged ones of basic education with private players calling the shots PTI SUS RMS RMS
