After HC rap for Punjab,uncertainty over Haryana school re-naming policy

The high court,however,ruled that the Punjab government policy violated Article 14 of the Constitution,on Monday. It said that there was a well-established salutary practice to name public institutions after those who sacrificed their lives for the freedom of the country or undertook great social service. “Whereas this policy would allow naming the public institutions as per the choice of people who could afford to give specified amounts irrespective of the source from which it was donated,” the court added.

The Haryana government,on its part,has already entered into agreements with a few private providers and many proposals are under consideration to engage private partners in the higher education sector. Education Minister Geeta Bhukkal,while speaking to The Indian Express,said that there had been a good response to the School Nurture Policy. “We have so far implemented this in the higher education sector and a few institutions have received good partners. There are certain proposals under consideration,too. This actually is a forward looking policy that would ensure that these institutions are provided with state-of-the-art infrastructure with adequate funding,” Bhukkal said.

When her attention was drawn to the high court order,she said: “We would take a decision after going through the judgment. All I can say is that we have a foolproof,honest and transparent policy. It is not that anybody can come with bagful of money and take away our institutions. We get these partners properly verified by the police. And a final decision is taken by the Chief Minister after the donors’ credentials are scanned and authenticated.”

The Haryana policy has a wider ambit with aims to use the donor funds to support organisations and institutions like the school development monitoring committees,panchayti raj institutions and NGOs,to enable them to work closely with the schools and bridge the urban and rural disparity. Experts,however,say that the Court ruling on the Punjab policy would apply to Haryana as well.