Private schools in Kolkata have proposed creating a formal platform to engage with the West Bengal government over inspections, notices and compliance requirements, with the issue being raised at the annual general meeting of the West Bengal Association of Private Affiliated Schools (WBAPAS) on Wednesday.
Representatives of around 50 schools attended the meeting, the second annual general meeting of the association, which has about 100 member schools. The organisation said the proposed platform would support dialogue between school managements and government authorities and help institutions address common operational, academic, administrative and legal concerns.
The move follows what school representatives described as increased interventions by the state education administration, including inspections by district inspector of schools offices, notices and short deadlines for completing compliance-related tasks.
“We are scared every time we visit the district inspector of schools (DI) office,” the head of one school said. The official, whose name was not published, said the institution had met government requirements outlined in a recent notice and had received a no-objection certificate to function. However, the school head said institutions needed to raise concerns collectively because individual schools could struggle to secure support when dealing with common issues.
The head of another private school said institutions were receiving a large number of notifications from the DI office. The principal said the school was affiliated to a central board and that tracking every notice was becoming difficult, particularly when compliance tasks were assigned with short deadlines.
“While we are ready to comply with all govt instructions, they should not feel like threats,” the principal said.
The association’s board of directors recently met West Bengal education minister Dipak Barman and submitted a representation outlining operational challenges faced by private schools. The report did not specify the date of the meeting with the minister or provide details of any government response to the representation.
Ranjan Mitter, joint vice-president of WBAPAS and principal of The Future Foundation School, said the proposed platform would enable collective representation and constructive engagement. He said the association was intended to help school managements and heads find solutions suited to their requirements and that it had associate members who could assist with academic, administrative and legal matters.
Mousumi Saha, principal of National English School and secretary of WBAPAS, said forms would be circulated among members. Schools would be able to submit their concerns through the forms and receive appropriate guidance, she said.
The association has not announced a specific date for launching the platform or disclosed the structure through which it would engage with government authorities. Its immediate next step is to circulate the forms among member schools and collect their concerns.
