Are Principals being made scapegoat for school management’s failure to spend

There was a time when Government and Central schools were all that were sought after in India. Times changed by beginning of the century, DPS came into picture and there followed a number of other big corporate names and Alumni groups that entered into the business of School Education. There was a subtle commercialization of Schooling with private schools favoring in-house costlier stationary and dresses. Then came a time when Schools started hiking fees at their will in absence of a well defined regulator. DoE did set some guidelines but their implementation was found lacking. As per boards like CBSE, the fees should only be hiked in accordance with expenditure. But, as a matter of fact, Fees blew out of proportion and parents capacity increased as well thereby making it more comfortable for schools to hike the fees regularly. While the decision on fees (as a source of earning for School) is primarily taken by school management/owner, the decision on other key factors related to child safety and security are also dependent upon school management/owner.

It is the school management/owner who has to take a final call on security vendor/agency, safety supervisor and fund allocation to such measures like first aid room, emergency in-house services, CCTVs etc. Principal and coordinators may keep on sharing feedback with the school management, but the onus remains with the management/owner. Principal is supposed to be focused on other critical aspects of Schooling like Academics, conducting Events, admissions etc. The Principal also is a medium for parents to indirectly provide suggestion to school management/owners in many aspects including child safety and security.

So, while the Principal would have already conveyed parent’s view to the school management/owner, acting upon it is sole discretion of school management. Unless they are willing to spend money on a good security agency like G4, a separate post for student safety supervisor, additional CCTVs, emergency vehicle, hospital engagement, the whole exercise of Principal spending time with school management is futile.

It doesn’t always mean the School Principal can always be absolved. Sometimes they are very much a decision maker themselves if they are part of School Management/owner group and have funds for decision making. It is also said that in some cases, Principals neglect parent’s complaint altogether which is again a recipe for a bigger negligence in making.

So, who is accountable for cases of school negligence such as that in Ryan International school. The immediate reaction of school was to expel Principal. But, do you feel it made sense? We are willing to hear from you on this.

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Last Updated on September 10, 2017 by Go4Reviews