253 schools face action for lacking RTE approval

The issue of unauthorised schools was a key topic in this yearrsquos budget session though their numbers have fallen from 674 in 202324 to 388 Maharashtrarsquos School Education Minister Dadaji Bhuse announced that all such schools would be inspected and action would be taken accordinglyOf the 388 unauthorised schools 135 have already faced penal action while 253 still await measures These 253 institutions operate without approval under the Right to Education RTE Act despite having a UDISE Unified District Information System for Education codeCongress Member of Legislative Council Pragya Satav raised concerns over the future of students studying in these institutions highlighting the risks involved Responding to this Bhuse assured the house that an inspection of these 250 schools had been ordered to address the issueAs per Section 18 of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009 and Rule 114 of the RTE Rules 2011 schools must obtain an RTE Approval Certificate Index2 from the districtrsquos Education OfficerDiscussing Mumbairsquos situation Nitin Dalvi President of Maharashtra Rajya Vidyarthi Palak Shikshak Mahasangh said ldquoThe RTE Act includes 19 key monitoring points covering financial security and teaching issues Since 2013 successive governments have mocked its implementation Authorities found 218 schools hadnrsquot applied for RTE recognition until 2022 with the number reaching 674 by 2023 These schools were supposed to be fined or shut down but were ignored until 2024 Shockingly government officials including those from BMC deliberately overlooked this issue Only after a complaint to the Child Rights Commission and persistent followups did these schools apply for RTE recognitionrdquoIn Mumbai 192 out of the 218 schools violating RTE regulations were granted recognition in July 2024 while seven of the remaining schools have been closed downWhat about studentsAround 39000 students and 1500 teachers have been affected by the schools not authorised under RTE Raising the issue in the house Satav questioned the government on its measures to curb unauthorised schools and sought an action taken reportEducation Minister Dadaji BhuseIn response Education Minister Bhuse acknowledged the presence of 388 unauthorised schools under private management in the state and confirmed that action had been initiated under Section 185 of the RTE ActldquoWhenever closure action is taken students are shifted to other authorised schools nearby parents too are apprised of the situation Teachers too will be shifted to other schools accordinglyrdquo said a senior official from the school education departmentDadaji Bhuse said ldquoThese are schools and we cannot just shut them down at one go We have to understand the issues and why they have failed to get approval Is it possible to get approval for themThis matter involves teachers and students studying there we will need to think of accommodating them too before we take action However action will be taken on errant schools who are violating rulesrdquoMinority schoolsA delegation led by the School Management Federationrsquos General Secretary Shabana Khan met with the Honourable Chairman of the State Minority Commission Pyare Khan to discuss the possibility of revising school recognition parameters for Minority Slum Pocket Schools in MumbaildquoWe have been assured by the honourable chairman that he would do his best to support the cause of education in slum areas He also announced plans to visit these schools soon and propose positive solutions to help them secure recognitionrdquo said Shabana Khan founder and principal of VK English SchoolldquoIt is unfair to shut down schools that provide affordable education based on technicalities Many of these schools operate under nonprofit public trusts are registered with the Charity Commissioner and even hold a UDISE number which many other schools lackrdquoUDISE is an online management information system initiated by the Ministry of Education covering over 1489 lakh schools across India Since 201819 it has provided realtime data to offer a comprehensive overview of the countryrsquos education system39000No of students affected by schools without RTE approval