By Waseem Raza Khan (Senior Journalist)
The framework of India’s basic education system relies on government schools, Zilla Parishad, and Municipal Corporation schools. These are the institutions where children from the country’s majority middle-class and poor families dream of a bright future. However, today these schools have fallen victim to mismanagement, administrative negligence, and steadily rising corruption. To immediately reform this situation, the Ministry of Education must make a historic decision to form an independent external education committee, functioning transparently and centered on public interest, modeled after previously established school boards.
The current state of schools run by the government and local bodies is alarming, and these problems directly impact the students’ future.
Misappropriation in midday meal quality, siphoning of infrastructure budgets, and irregularities in the distribution of learning materials have become commonplace. Qualified teachers are assigned non-academic tasks instead of teaching. Additionally, they must battle administrative red tape for salaries, transfers, and promotions. Schools lack basic facilities like drinking water, toilets, and clean classrooms. There is no transparent or effective grievance redressal mechanism in place; inspections exist mostly on paper, keeping the ground reality hidden.
To tackle these challenges, there is a need for an external committee comprising educationists, aware citizens, retired teachers, and parents. This committee should be directly accountable to the Ministry of Education and granted administrative oversight authority. When an independent board or committee monitors daily school operations and funds, as well as student needs and teacher-related issues, the scope for corruption will be eliminated.
The committee will ensure that the syllabus is completed on time and that academic standards remain high, restoring control of education to students and parents. It will address teachers’ issues, grievances, and operational hurdles, earning them public cooperation and respect. The Ministry of Education must take immediate steps in this direction. Merely increasing the budget will not improve the situation; public participation is crucial to ensure funds are utilized correctly. We appeal to all educationists, social workers, teachers, parents, and aware citizens across the country to strongly raise this demand. Until accountability and external oversight are implemented in the education system, the condition of our government schools will not change. Let us unite to build a strong and transparent education system.
