New Delhi: Delhi Government has initiated the process of closure of around 300 private schools running without recognition here due to their failure to meet the minimum land requirement and quality standards prescribed under the Right to Education Act.
If any school does not fulfil the norms and standards specified under the Act, it shall take steps to fulfill the same within a period of three years. “The Delhi High Court had in May this year directed DoE, civic-bodies and DDA to ensure immediate closure or shifting of those unrecognized schools which are housed in any premises that may pose a threat to the safety of the children studying therein,” a senior Directorate of Education (DoE) official told PTI. “DOE has already given provisional recognition to about 800 unrecognized schools but still about 300 schools are running unrecognized, for the fact that these schools do not meet the minimum land requirement. The file for closure of these schools is under process,” the official added.
The government had issued a circular earlier this month asking all provisionally recognized and unrecognized schools to submit ‘Structural Stability record/certificate’ of the building in which they are housed, failing which it would be presumed they do have any such document/record and further action for closure of such school shall be started without further notice. The section 18 of Right To Education (RTE) Act has a provision that no school can be established without obtaining certificate from the appropriate authority. According to the Act, if any school does not fulfil the norms and standards specified under the Act, it shall take steps to fulfill the same within a period of three years. “While considering the cases for grant of provisional recognition of the schools, structural stability certificate or building fitness certificate issued by the competent authorities, are obtained by DOE to ensure the structural stability of the school building.
“But the department has ‘no structural stability’ record of those schools which are not even provisionally recognized due to non-fulfilment of land norms,” the official said. DoE has also issued a district-wise list of unrecognized schools and those whose cases for provisional recognition have been turned down by it.
