Say 'No' to illegal schools! 29 shut in Mumbai

Turning schools into commercial enterprise, 29 unauthorised primary and secondary schools in Mumbai's western suburbs went about their business, unperturbed by the damage caused to the students. Unnoticed for a decade, these self-proclaimed schools have now been served a notice by the education department asking them to shut down.

Located between Bandra and Dahisar, these schools do not have the approval from the state education department. It may not be known to parents that students from such unauthorised schools are not allowed to appear for SSC exams. No wonder, most of these schools admitted students from class I to VIII, with some venturing up to class IX.

What is more appalling is that these unauthorized schools continued to find students to stay in business for 10 years, despite the fact that any certification from such unauthorized schools is not valid anywhere, so much so that even their school leaving certificates are not accepted by other schools. Students from such schools have to follow in the footsteps of private candidates by filling Form 17, which allows students who have failed in Std VIII or IX to take the exams privately.

Schools need to obtain the state government's approval before starting operations. While many of these schools may have applied for permission from the state government, but the fact is that they have continued to operate without the necessary approval. Education inspector, western zone, PR Pawar, said, "We can only send them notices. The menace will continue as long as parents keep turning to them". In this case, parents have been asked to admit their children in other recognized schools and "the education department will provide special letters to the students to help them secure admission in authorized schools," Pawar told DNA. Read more  

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