22 illegal schools shut down in education department action

Education inspectors have started cracking down on illegal and unauthorised schools in the city with the education department of the BMC closing down 22 of the 210 unauthorised private schools for the academic year 202324 Authorities have accommodated close to 1500 affected students to nearby schoolsOne school has applied for selffinanced status The number of unauthorised schools in Mumbai now stands at 187Following an annual survey conducted by the BMC education department during the 202223 academic year The survey revealed that 269 schools offering classes from I to IV were unauthorised Out of these 62 schools were closed down while 13 schools managed to obtain government permission to operate as private selffinanced schools This brought the number to 194Efforts to minimise sufferingEfforts were made to minimise academic disruption for students attending the closed schools Around 1500 students were accommodated and transferred to nearby schools after counselling their parents who were unaware of the unauthorised status of their childrenrsquos schools However during the crackdown on the remaining 194 unauthorised schools an additional 16 schools were identified and added to the list in the year 202324 bringing the total number of unauthorised schools to 210 Approximately 30000 students are enrolled in these 210 schoolsThe deputy director of school education Mumbai instructed to close down unauthorised schools by April 30The newly identified unauthorised schools were given until June to obtain the necessary permission from the state government otherwise they would face closureIn January of this year the director of education secondary and higher secondary schools issued an order to subordinates stating that there should be no unauthorised schools in the state by the next academic year In line with this directive the deputy director of school education Mumbai issued a notification on April 25 instructing education officials to close down such schools by April 30 and submit a report midday reported on the issue on April 28The state education department also warned that action must be taken against the unrecognised schools or face consequences As a result the BMC education department promptly took action closing down 22 schools and ensuring the smooth transition of hundreds of affected students to nearby schools at the start of the new academic yearSeeks selffinanceMeanwhile one school Nutan Vidyamandir in Goregaon has applied for selffinanced status Raju Tadvi BMC education office stated ldquoWe have closed down 22 schools so far while one has applied to the state government to obtain selffinanced status This does not mean the action against unauthorised schools is over It is a process that follows stipulated rules Moreover we have to consider the wellbeing of students studying in these schools and find suitable accommodations for themThe management of these schools must be given a fair hearing Boards declaring these schools unauthorised have been displayed outside the premises to alert and warn parents Action will be taken against schools that disregard rules and ignore notices from the education departmentrdquoOf the 22 schools that closed down this academic year the majoritymdasheight schoolsmdashare located in the M East ward Chembur Govandi Deonar and MankhurdAdditionally four schools were closed in the L ward Kurla Chandivali and Asalpha three in the P North ward Malad two in the S ward Bhandup and one each in the F North ward Antop hill Wadala F South ward Sewri P South ward Goregaon R Central ward Borivali and N ward VikhroliTMC shuts down 2In Thane the education department of the Thane Municipal Corporation TMC shut down two out of the 47 unauthorised schools Balasaheb Rakshe education officer of TMC explained that action is being taken against all 47 schools in phases and in accordance with the stipulated rules under Section 18 5 of the Right to Education Act 2009 Section 18 5 of the Act states that anyone establishing or running a school without obtaining a certificate of recognition or continuing to operate a school after recognition withdrawal is liable to a fine of up to R1 lakh In case of continued contraventions a fine of R10000 per day may be imposedRakshe stated ldquoFour schools are now out of the list Two schools both located in the Kausa area of Mumbra have been closed down while two othersmdashone in Daighar and another in Kausamdashhave applied for selffinanced status For the remaining schools we have already displayed boards outside declaring them unauthorised and alerting parents Notices have also been issued to these schools under Section 18 5 of the Act A onetime fine of R1 lakh has already been imposed and an additional fine of R10000 per day has been levied for the days the schools remained open after receiving the noticerdquoThe repeat offendersAbdul Mannan Abdul Rashid Kazi an activist and complainant expressed concern that these illegal schools continue to operate without consequences Kazi stated ldquoThe education department should have shut down or at least restricted these schools until the hearings However with the new academic year these schools have taken in new admissions and reopened We have even met with the DMC education and Municipal Commissioner to voice our complaints but no action has been taken thus far These schools are repeat offenders and receive notices every year Why not shut them down or file a police complaint against the managementrdquo210Total no of unauthorised schools before crackdown