VS writes to Chandy against move for aided special schools

Thiruvananthapuram: Opposition leader V S Achuthanandan has once again come out against the UDF government's decision to accord aided status to special schools.
In an open letter sent to chief minister Oommen Chandy on Monday, Achuthanandan said the decision was aimed at fostering corruption and was against all norms set by the Centre and recommendations made by several agencies and committees.
"I had pointed out the corruption angle when the government was toying with the idea of giving aided status to 33 special schools in the state. But, the government discarded the criticism and even claimed that it was politically motivated. However, the manner in which the government diluted rules and regulations for special schools justifies the corruption allegations," Achuthanandan said.
On May 15, 2015, the government had issued two orders regarding the approval of special schools and had given aided status to them. While the first order said special schools with minimum 100 children would be given aided status, the second order reduced the number of children to 50. "A committee headed by the DPI had made 100 cents of land mandatory for special schools, but the government diluted it. Now special schools need only 20 and 50 cents in urban and rural areas, respectively," he said. It would be impossible to set up all these mandatory facilities in 20 cents. The vacancies in special schools include that of headmaster, teachers, speech therapist, physiotherapist, occupational therapist, driver and cook.
"Reducing the required extent of land from 100 cents to 20 cents carries the scent of corruption. The three-member committee had also recommended that appointments in aided special schools should be through PSC only, but succumbing to pressure from communal and religious organizations, the government changed this too. As per rules, the student teacher ratio in special schools is 8:1. If so, there would be 12 teachers' posts in a school with 100 students. The number of staff members would be at least 25. It's here that the corruption would manifest," VS said.