Mumbai: In an attempt to save the education of over 40,000 students, the civic education department has appealed to the state to revoke its decision of shutting 231 schools. These schools have been declared unauthorised by the state but the civic education committee has requested to grant these schools some time to fulfill their pending procedures.
Around 231 unaided schools have been labelled as illegal and authorised by the state education ministry. These schools will thus be shut and would not be allowed to conduct admissions under Right to Education (RTE). These schools will be charged a fine of Rs one lakh. And if these schools do not shut but continue to function then they will be charged a fine of Rs 10,000 per day.
These schools are being shut because they have not completed certain necessary procedures. Currently, these schools cater to around 35,000 to 40,000 students. A senior official of state education department said, “These schools are unauthorised and cannot continue to function. We have notified these schools about completing required procedures or else they will have to face the consequences before the start of next academic year.”
On the other hand, the civic education committee chairman Mangesh Satamkar, has written a letter to Vinod Tawde, state education minister for school and higher education, requesting to grant these schools some time to fulfill pending procedures. A senior official from education committee said, “Students will be affected if these schools are shut suddenly right at the beginning of an academic year. These schools should be given some time to fulfill their procedures rather than directly shutting them down.”
Teachers claimed the decision to shut schools affects them and students directly. Reshma Mane, a teacher said, “The government decides to shut some schools suddenly and then we are left stranded as we have to look for another job. The state should make some provisions for teachers who are left jobless as most of the times we are not aware of the legal situation of the school. Parents and students are also in a fix as they have to find a new institution in a limited span of time or else they might lose an academic year.”