Queer are the ways how events unfold themselves. It is all about the Education Service Tax now renamed Education Development Support Fund. The amount to be paid by the private schools possibly remains the same but the change has to do with the headings under which they will be paying it. It is a strange formula to resolve the standoff between the adamant Finance Ministry and the equally ticklish private schools. The stakes are high because of the multi-billion rupee private school industry. There are many schools that make the bucks with only a few seeing red in their balance sheets. If the coffers are overflowing, a small percentage from it to help support the poor and marginalized students in the remote areas can’t be very taxing on the schools concerned. Looks more like a ego trip than anything else.

The win-win situation has emerged for both in the fencing ring. That it all has come about shows how even the most bitter feuds can come to an amicable end. It is, however, a fact that the private schools will be paying and the revenue for the government will be flowing in. The finance ministry will be glad that it has one more feather in its revenue generating cap. The dearest wish is now for money to pour into the fund to be utilized honestly to financially enable the deprived students approach the future with the tool of education.