School closure: govt told totake lenient stand in HC

As a petition against the closure of unrecognised schools is expected to be taken up in the Kerala High Court on Wednesday, the Association of Minority Management Institutions, an organisation representing owners of educational institutions run by minority groups, has urged the government to take a stand in their favour.

P.M.A. Salam, Indian Union Muslim League leader, and one of the functionaries of the association, told the media here on Tuesday that around 3,000 schools across the State had been served closure notices by the Education Department. Though the department was claiming that the schools were not providing the facilities as mandated by the Right to Education Act, Mr. Salam alleged that the schools were not given enough time to act on the requirements.

“When the Act came into force in 2013, the United Democratic Front (UDF) government had asked unrecognised schools to either fulfil the obligations or close down. Around 1,000 schools managed to get recognition after officials examined the facilities. This government, however, is arbitrarily asking us to shut down without giving us a chance,” he alleged.

The schools facing closure included those approved by the Central Board of Secondary Education and functioning for over two decades. Education Minister C. Ravindranath had claimed on the floor of the House that 1,585 schools had been served notice, of which a majority were run by minority groups, Mr. Salam added.

Nisar Olavanna, president of the association, accused Education Department officials of adopting a hostile attitude towards the managements, affecting the future of lakhs of students, teachers and non-teaching staff. Asked about the allegation that the teachers and other staff were being paid a meagre amount as salaries, he said that only a few schools were resorting to such tactics. “There is a proposal to have a joint fight against the government move by roping in organisations such as the Nair Service Society (NSS), Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam, and Christian managements,” he said.