It is rightly said that “Education is not a privilege, it is a right” but, not every child can be seen enjoying this right in the state. According to the sources and reports, the enrollment rate of Government and Private schools and colleges has fallen drastically this year.
Anjali Srivastav, a class 12th student from Jalandhar believes that there is no point in pursuing graduation as there is no job security in this country.
Another student in class 11th said, “Instead of wasting money on getting a degree, I would go abroad and find a job there.”
Aman Singh, a student who has just given his class 10th board exams says, “There are no opportunities or jobs for a person doing graduation, that’s why I have decided to do IELTS after my 12th.”
Many youngsters and their families firmly have the same opinions as these students and this is the prime reason for the dwindling enrollment in schools and colleges in Punjab.
After talking to the experts in this field the main reasons for the decline of admissions that have come to the fore are financial loss due to pandemic, unemployment, salaries offered, and lack of opportunities.
“In my opinion the policies made by the government for education are good but some of them need amendments. The government should make a policy of providing accreditation to the schools. It should take some doable measures for private institutions as they are providing quality education to the children and for the same funds are required which we receive from the fees of students,” said Rachna Monga, the Principal of Sanskriti KMV School.
Office Superintendent of Lajpat Rai DAV College, Jagraon says, “In my college as well the enrollment rate has fallen by 50%. The main reason is that there are no job opportunities in our state, so the children think it’s better to go abroad and do jobs there.”
The Principal of DRV DAV Centenary Public School, Phillaur gives his opinion by saying, “enrollment rate in government schools has gone down because of financial complications as these families feel that it’s better to help the family financially instead of studying. The rate has fallen in private schools because of two reasons, the parents have shifted their children to government schools, and the other is financial problems.
Students don’t want to take admissions because there is no job security in this state.”
The government has already formed different schemes related to these problems, but now they should focus on the proper implementation of these schemes so that no youngster goes abroad in search of better opportunities.