Private schools are upping their strategies, with the new academic session looming ahead, by asking their teachers to step out and approach parents with fixed admission targets. The process of admission has begun in almost all reputed schools across the state and, in Vijayawada, it started much before in the first week of November.
Teachers lure the parents by giving them waivers in fees, along with other benefits. By using their teachers for marketing and giving certain parents discounts in fees, the schools are violating some of the guidelines laid down by the government for admission.
"I work in a private school and I teach children below Class V. We have been given targets to make 50 children admit to the school. By doing so, we have been promised a 25 percent increment in our salaries, along with other incentives. So, we, teachers, visit parents to convince them to admit their wards in our school. We also offer them discounts," T Jhansi, a teacher from Vijayawada, says.
The superintendent in charge of private schools, K Srinivas said, "We have clearly instructed managements of all schools not to conduct an entrance test and visit the parents. But, it has come to our knowledge that few schools have kept up with the practice. We will conduct an inspection drive and take up the issue."
Meanwhile, some parents say they are fed up with such marketing strategies and may launch a campaign against them. A parent said "Every other day, I respond to a teacher knocking on my door, enquiring about my children and narrating the details of their schools. This shows how private schools are demoralising the education system by sending teachers on roads for the sake of admissions. Soon, we would like to form a parents committee in the city and launch a campaign against these acts."
