Action has been initiated against the 661 schools being run illegally in Maharashtra and fines have been imposed on the private institutes, Education Minister Deepak Kesarkar told the House in a written reply.
The issue was raised during the question and answer hour in the state Assembly. Kesarkar’s reply stated: “It was brought to our notice that 661 illegal schools were run in the state by private institutes. Hence the department has initiated action to shut these schools and a fine has been imposed on them.” The minister further added that till date, 78 schools have been completely shut down and 6,308 students from these schools are being accommodated in other schools.
Kesarkar also confirmed that his department has information about 186 illegal schools running in the jurisdiction of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). “Of the 186, we have shut down 14 illegal schools running in the BMC jurisdiction. Our department is still investigating the status of 172 schools. In June, we had issued a show-cause notice to officials concerned from the education department.”
The members of the house also raised concerns over the schools being running in highly populated areas. They pointed out how the schools are flouting all norms. For instance, how there is no playing ground of 500 sq ft, the schools have no lease licence agreement of 30 years and no deposit of Rs 20 lakh.
As many schools have been running since 1985 and some started in 2012, the rule of self-finance does not apply to them. Hence, they requested the Chief Minister to give them adequate time to fulfil the condition.
Kesarkar said that they have got proposals from some schools to give concessions in rules and adequate time to fulfil all conditions. “These proposals are under consideration.”
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