Kullu, May 1

Eight students from private schools and only one student from a government school of the district made it to the merit list of science, commerce and arts in the Class XII board examination results declared by the Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education on April 29. Komal of Government Senior Secondary School, Dughilug, stood eighth among the overall toppers and fourth in the arts stream, securing 97.20 per cent.

Four female students made it to the merit list in the science stream, two from the commerce stream and three from the arts stream. Out of the nine achievers, only one student is from a government school while the others are from three private schools of the district.

The examination results have exposed government schools as they have lagged behind private schools in the Board exam results in the district. Despite the number of government schools in the district exceeding those of private schools, they have failed to deliver results. An educationist Padam alleged that the standard of education at most government schools was compromised, as was evident from the results. He said, "The government is making many efforts to promote government schools, but more efforts are needed to strengthen the educational framework at these schools."

Kullu resident Manoj said parents were inclined to get their children enrolled in private schools for better quality of education. He said, "It is surprising that despite having highly qualified teachers in government schools, private schools outshone them. It is a matter of concern that despite frequent checks and a number of departmental formalities to regulate the standard of education being provided, students of these schools have not been able to perform at par with the students of private schools."

Sprouting of private schools was being witnessed in the valley due to a trend of sending children to private schools for better results. Sunil, a parent here alleged, "The teachers of the government schools are not answerable to anybody for inferior results as compared to their private counterparts. Moreover, due to job security and a lack of incentive to better performers, the enthusiasm of government school teachers is non-existent." He said that the government and education department should take adequate steps so that the performance of government schoolchildren does not depreciate further in comparison to the students of private schools.