KOZHIKODE: Mar Jose Porunnedam, Bishop of Mananthavady diocese, has said that aided schools in the State are passing through a financial crisis.

In a circular to churches, institutions and parsonages in the diocese, he sought to highlight the plight of schools in Kerala and particularly those in the Mananthavady diocese. Christian managements did not have the financial resources to develop or modernise educational institutions, he said.

As a way out, he suggested the setting up of sub-committees headed by church vicars to envisage projects for fund generation.

Transactions must be transparent and assistance could also be sought from local self-government institutions, Government, elected representatives and beneficiaries. The bishop also urged the diocese school managements to follow the directive of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India not to take donation for appointment and admission.

<137> Root cause

<137>The financial crisis resulted when corporate agencies took over financial responsibility of the schools. The settler population that had provided financial aid to schools withdrew when the corporate agencies stepped in to oversee the school functioning.

Another aspect was that non-Christian communities, from which majority of the students came, were not willing to provide financial assistance for the schools' development.

Bishop Porunnedam wondered how schools under Christian managements, housed in dilapidated buildings, would carry out repairs by 2008 as per a Government notification.

While Government schools were provided funds to improve infrastructure by the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan, aided schools under Christian managements continue to languish due to fund crunch, he said.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail