The Mahaparents Association has urged Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to order a high-level inquiry into the Pune Municipal Corporation's (PMC) decision to reimburse Akanksha Foundation ₹25,000 per student for operating five municipal schools under a nine-year agreement.
In a letter submitted to the CM, the association questioned the rationale behind the reimbursement, claiming that the foundation receives the amount because it has been unable to secure funding through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives.
The association pointed out that under the Right to Education (RTE) Act, the Maharashtra government reimburses private schools ₹17,670 per student. It questioned why PMC is paying a significantly higher amount of ₹25,000 per student to a private organisation for running municipal schools and demanded an explanation for the disparity.
According to the association, if Akanksha Foundation is unable to raise CSR funds, it should not have been entrusted with the responsibility of managing municipal schools. It argued that the additional public funds could have been better utilised to provide essential facilities such as school uniforms, shoes, sweaters and raincoats to students from economically weaker sections studying in PMC schools.
The memorandum further alleged that PMC collects an education tax from citizens as part of property tax, and that these funds are meant for the development of municipal schools and the welfare of their students. Diverting public money to financially benefit a private organisation, if true, would amount to misuse of taxpayers' funds and would contradict PMC's motto of serving public interest, the association said.
The parents' body also alleged that by allocating enhanced funding to a private organisation, the civic administration was attempting to shift its educational responsibilities instead of strengthening its own school system.
Dilipsingh Vishwakarma, on behalf of the Mahaparents Parents' Association, Pune, said, "The Mahaparents Parents' Association has demanded a thorough investigation into the entire arrangement and has urged the state government to review the foundation's eligibility to continue operating the schools if irregularities are found."
