Panaji, Mar 29 (TOI): Around 160 unaided schools in Goa, with nearly 40,000 students, will remain closed on April 7 in solidarity with the National Independent School Alliance (NISA), which will be holding a massive rally at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi on that day.

One of the main demands of the unaided schools in Goa is that the state government provide vouchers of Rs 2,500 to each student per month, rather than limiting aid to only some institutions in the state.

The All-Goa Government Recognised Unaided Schools Association (AGGRUSA) said this would allow parents greater freedom when opting a school for their child and the parents can then pay out of their own pockets the difference between the fees of the school of their choice and the government voucher.

“All AGGRUSA member schools will remain shut on April 7 and participate in a two-wheeler and four-wheeler peaceful rally, which will head from Mapusa and Margao towards Panaji. The state’s increasing control over the education system and providers has led to increasing intervention in school management by governments, which has posed a challenge to a school’s autonomy. We want greater autonomy for schools. For instance, the decision to detain a child or not should be left to schools based on various factors and it can’t be taken by the state,” said Aparna S Porob Palyekar, president of AGGRUSA.

Palyekar and founder member of AGGRUSA Deepak Khaitan will be representing Goa at the rally in New Delhi. Khaitan said that the authorities in the state have been very cooperative with unaided schools, but some nagging issues continued to remain throughout the country, which were important to voice.