Dy director of school education faces inquiry

Following numerous complaints the state education ministry has instructed the education commissioner to initiate an inquiry against the deputy director of school education This action comes in response to allegations of dereliction of duty and significant lapses in taking action against schools that are in violation of RTE Right to Education norms and operating without RTE recognitionIn recent directives addressed to State Education Commissioner Suraj Mandhare an official from the state school education and sports ministry said ldquoA complaint was received from Nitin Dalvi on January 30 regarding the lack of action against schools violating RTE norms and operating without RTE recognition It is imperative that action be taken in accordance with existing government regulations and provisions pertinent to the issues raised in the complaint A detailed report on the actions taken must be submitted immediately to the governmentrdquoThe directions were issued on March 1 after numerous complaints from Nitin Dalvi president of the Maharashtra State Student Parents Teachers Federation MSCPCR ldquoDespite numerous orders and directives issued by the director of education Maharashtra state commission for protection of child rights to act on the matter the Deputy Director of School Education Mumbai Sandeep Sangave has disregarded all these orders and has even played down the matter by saying these schools already possess government NOC and cannot be called illegal or unrecognised just because they havenrsquot renewed or taken RTE recognition Are the rules made so that they can be violatedrdquo Dalvi saidIn his August 2023 reply to the director of education primary and state commissioner of education Sangave had clarified that the 218 schools despite not submitting Index II document mandatory under RTE Act and not having RTE recognition cannot be declared unauthorisedFollowing this on January 11 the director of education primary formally tasked Sangave with taking appropriate action in this matter The directive further emphasised the need for submitting an action taken report to the directorrsquos office and the commissioner of education in addition to forwarding it to the child rights commissionerActivists have since criticised the state education department and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC for failing to take appropriate action They have also alleged that the civic education department is playing down the matterThe caseAs per data shared by the BMC under the RTI Act in March 2023 to NGO Maharashtra Rajya Vidyarthi Palak Shikshak Mahasangh Maharashtra State StudentParent Teacher Federation 218 private unaided primary schools across the city have failed to getextend their RTE recognition Some of the prominent schools in the list include Anandilal Podar high school Santacruz Raja Shivaji primary school Dadar St Michaels High School Mahim St Andrews High School primary section Bandra St Aloysius Primary School Santacruz Alexandra girls high school Fort Gloria Convent Byculla St Pius X High School Nahur Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Vidyalaya Borivli Rustomjee Troopers Dahisar and VPMrsquos Vidya Mandir primary school DahisarRTE Act mandatesUnder RTE 25 per cent of the total seats are to be reserved for the socioeconomically weaker sections The schools are expected to provide free education to these children and claim reimbursement from central and state governmentsAlso the act requires all schools to adhere to 10 infrastructure standards such as a compound wall toilets drinking water playgrounds etc Every three years the schools must apply for an extensionrenewal of accreditation Following the RTE Actrsquos introduction a schoolrsquos recognition is only renewed if it has met these 10 standardsFailing to get the renewal schools could be fined R10000 per day for running the school without recognition until they meet the norms The management of these schools will also have to pay a penalty of R1 lakh The BMC is the statutory body issuing the recognition certificate for primary schoolsAs per BMC officials while some of the 218 schools have failed to renew their recognition some of them since 2016 some have applied after the deadline given to themldquoDespite filing repeated complaints concerning RTE approval since March 2023 no action has been initiated to date We have now demanded the school education ministry to issue an order to suspend the deputy director of school education immediately for dereliction of duty and shielding schools that are violating RTE normsrdquo Dalvi saidOfficialSpeakWhen contacted Sangave said ldquoThe matter falls entirely within the jurisdiction of the BMC Nevertheless I have diligently responded to and addressed every communication directed to me I have also written to the BMC commissioner regarding the issue Furthermore itrsquos worth noting that all these schools possess a no objection certificate NOC from the state government Is it appropriate to label them unauthorised and close them down solely for not renewing RTE recognitionI have consistently adhered to regulations and upheld transparency throughout It seems I am being unfairly targetedrdquoRs 10KDaily fine for flouting RTE norms