Schools can't be places for business : Partha

With Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee speaking against donations taken by private schools in the state, West Bengal Education minister Partha Chatterjee today said they cannot be places for business.
"Merit should not bow its head before financial pressure. There cannot be any business in a place of education," Chatterjee told reporters on the sidelines of a programme here.
"We have everything in mind. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will talk to the representatives of the schools," he said.
Chatterjee in this context also commented that some private schools were being run "more on style and etiquette and less on substance".
"Some schools are imposing financial burden on the students in the name of extra-curricular activities," he added.

Banerjee told the assembly yesterday that she would call a meeting of the school representatives once the ongoing board examinations were over keeping in mind that private educational institutions in the state demand huge donations from students.
"I want to bring a policy keeping in mind both the common people and the authorities of the private educational institutions. We have very good private schools, colleges and universities in our state. But there are some which are charging so much ... Demand so much. I think there must be control at some point," she had said during the passage of West Bengal Clinical Establishments (Registration, Regulation and Transparency) Bill, 2017.