Mira Bhayandar: Days ahead of reopening, MBMC declares 7 schools as illegal

With less than a week remaining for schools to reopen for the new academic session, the education department attached to the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) has finally woken up to the existence of unrecognized private schools illegally operating in the twin-city. The civic administration has tagged seven schools as illegal out of which six were found to be imparting education in English medium, while the remaining one is a Marathi-medium school.

Urging parents to refrain from enrolling their children in to the unregistered private schools, deputy municipal commissioner Ajit Muthe said, “Yes, the list is delayed. Notices are being issued. Once we find that the schools are accepting admissions despite our warnings, we will issue closure notices to the management and those who fail to comply will not only face action under the relevant sections of the Right to Education Act, but also be slapped with criminal charges.”

Interestingly, the names of most of the educational institutions have featured in yesteryear's annual list of illegal schools, exposing the unwillingness of the civic administration in taking stern action against habitual offenders who continue to play with the future and life of students.

Muthe who has recently taken charge of the education department has also assured to probe the delay in taking action against unregistered schools and take action against those found to be responsible for negligence. Admitting their children to illegal schools is risky as students cannot appear for state board and government exams. The education department is empowered to initiate criminal proceedings under Sections 420 and 406 of the Indian Penal Code against erring school managements.