269 unauthorised schools in city

Mumbai | The municipal corporation’s education department has sent notices to 269 schools that are working in the city without proper authorization.
Many schools started without proper approval and may result in academic loss of students in the event the schools being closed. To prevent parents and students from being deceived, the corporation publishes a list of such schools by sending notices to them every year.

It is said that these unrecognized schools have been operating for the last 10 years. However, an official of the education department said that they do not have the authority to take action against these illegal schools.
The BMC frequently issues notices to the unauthorized schools. The list of schools to which such notices have been served is submitted to the state government every year. However, the state government that has the power to take punitive action against such schools do not often act.

As per the rules, schools have to pay an appropriate amount of penalty if they want approval. The amount of fine is up to Rs 1 lakh. The schools that have paid the fine are required to submit a letter from the self-finance department to the municipality. After that, these unauthorized schools that fulfill the conditions are recognized, said Raju Tadvi, education officer of the municipality.
In the 2022-23 academic year, out of 283 unauthorized schools of the previous year, four schools have received the self-finance certificate from the state government. The four schools are NIOS accredited. Another 11 schools have been closed.

That leaves 269 unauthorized schools, out of which 19 have been excluded from the list of unauthorized schools and five newly discovered schools.
Raju Tadvi said that notices were issued in March 2022 to close 269 illegal schools and accommodate students in nearby BMC schools or in accredited schools.