No fire safety nod, 10 coaching centres served closure notice in Noida

NOIDA: The district inspector of schools on Thursday issued an order to shut down 10 coaching institutes in Noida and Greater Noida for failing to comply with fire safety norms and not registering under the UP Coaching Regulations Act, 2002.
On June 15, the education department served notices to 54 coaching institutes, including the 10, for operating without registration.
The institutes were directed to submit a no objection certificate (NOC) from the fire department to the district higher education department by June 21.
The move had come after a massive fire broke out in a coaching centre in Delhi's Mukherjee Nagar on that day, prompting the students to jump out of windows.
Thursday's order, issued by the DIOS Dharamveer Singh's office, stated: "It is clear that you are running the coaching centre without making any security arrangements. In this regard, you are directed to close the coaching centre with immediate effect, which is running against the rules, otherwise, legal action will be taken against you as per the rules."
The institutes that are ordered to shut down their branches include some premier ones like Allen Institute in Noida and Time Coaching Centre in Noida and Greater Noida.
"The rules are the same for all, no matter what the magnitude of the coaching institution is in terms of student strength or reach. Earlier, we sent a letter to 54 such coaching institutes, who were not following the UP Coaching Regulations Act. They were given time till June 21 to respond. These 10 institutes have not responded in any medium. It raises questions about the security of students, which is of foremost priority for us," Singh said.
The DIOS said they were still verifying the documents submitted by the other centres. "If more centres are found violating the Act, they too will be shut down," he added.