Following a protest staged by parents outside the headquarters of the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC), the civic education department has responded by providing additional resources to the CBSE School in Koparkhairane. As a result, the number of teachers at the school has been increased from 9 to 15, effectively addressing the concerns raised by the parents. Even though the number of teachers increased by six, catering to over 1300 students is impractical, said parents.
As part of NMMC’s vision of quality education for citizens and following a demand from citizens for a CBSE school, the civic body started two CBSE schools in 2028-19 in Nerul and Koparkhairane. While Nerul CBSE school is managed by Akanksha Foundation, an NGO, the Koparkhairane school is run by the Education Department of NMMC.
“Presently, there are 4 teachers in the pre-primary section and 5 teachers in the primary section in Koparkhairane CBSE school. Keeping in mind the requirement of teachers due to the increase in classes and the increasing number of students every year, NMMC Education Department released a tender on 12th July 2022 to provide 99 teachers through an external system starting last year,” said an official from NMMC’s Education department.
After not receiving any response to the initial tender, the civic body released a re-tender on October 27, 2022. Unfortunately, there was still no response, prompting the civic body to re-tender once more on March 24, 2023. Finally, on the third attempt, the civic body received a single response. The online technical envelope of the tender was opened on May 24, 2023, following prior approval. The tender process is currently ongoing and being implemented according to the established procedures.
Meanwhile, the parents of students at Koparkhairane Civic CBSE school protested due to the non-availability of teachers and met officials of the education department. “They were informed that the process of hiring teachers is under process and a few teachers would be taken to provide teachers to the school immediately,” said the official.
Recognising the gravity of the situation, NMMC Commissioner Rajesh Narvekar convened an urgent meeting with the Education Department. During the meeting, the commissioner emphasized the importance of promptly addressing the issue of teacher availability. As a result, immediate action was taken, resulting in the provision of 6 additional teachers to the concerned school. Furthermore, the commissioner instructed the Education Department to expedite the completion of the tender process and ensure that the necessary teachers are made available to the school. Consequently, the education department is diligently taking swift action in accordance with the commissioner's directives.
