Show cause notice to 2,531 private schools in Odisha

BHUBANESWAR: School and Mass Education Minister Samir Ranjan Dash on Wednesday informed the Assembly that 2,531 private schools in Odisha are not accorded certificate of recognition by the State government as they have not met the necessary criteria.

In a written reply to a question of BJD MLA Chakramani Kanhar, the Minister said out of 6,767 private schools in the State, 4,236 have obtained certification of recognition from the government.

The private schools running without certificate of recognition have been served show cause notice by the department to explain why the government will not take steps to close down their institutions, he said. The department has set guidelines for issuing certificate of recognition to schools.

The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RCFCE) Act, 2009 was enacted to provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of 6 to 14 years, he added.

The government made the Odisha Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Rules, 2010 for implementation of the RCFCE Act.

Section 18 of the Act provides that “no school, other than a school established, owned or controlled by the appropriate Government or the local authority, shall, after the commencement of this Act, be established or function, without obtaining a ‘Certificate of Recognition’ from such authority by making an application in such form or manner as prescribed”.