Madhya Pradesh Scraps Mandatory Land Requirement For Private School Recognition

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): As per the new guidelines for the recognition and operation of private schools in the state, the mandatory land requirement for school recognition has been removed, while a sports ground located within a radius of 500 metres will now be considered valid.

Earlier, private schools in urban areas were required to have at least 75 decimals of land, while schools in rural areas needed one acre.

For smaller schools, the previous norms required a minimum of 4,000 sq ft of land. The revised guidelines have now removed the mandatory land requirement.

Under the new rules, if a school does not have its own playground, it can use a playground located within 500 metres of the school. Schools will also be permitted to operate from two campuses.

For Classes 9 and 10, a composite science laboratory will be mandatory, while separate laboratories for physics, chemistry and biology will be required for Classes 11 and 12.

The government has also made biometric attendance mandatory for teachers. Schools seeking recognition will have to submit documents through the online portal.

Meanwhile, the MP Private School Association has opposed the revised rules, claiming that some of the new provisions are impractical and will create difficulties for school operators.

New branch deadline

Schools that receive recognition will have to complete the process of opening a new branch, along with all required documents by February 28.

The guidelines also provide for appeals against rejection of recognition applications.

An appeal can be filed before the commissioner, Public Instructions, and a further appeal can be made before the state-level recognition committee headed by the school education minister. Each appeal will require a Rs 5,000 fee.