The education department has apprised the Maharashtra government of the violations by non-state board schools operating in the state. The detailed list has pointed out that the CBSE, ICSE, IB, IGCSE and other non-state board schools violate almost every rule in the book. The department has sought the intervention of the government to put an end to this.
The list, a copy of which is with The Asian Age, has enumerated nearly 15 violations that the non-state board schools are guilty of and has pointed out that the education department has no control over these schools owing to which the schools fixate fees as per their whims. So, IGCSE and IB schools collect fees that run into lakhs. Most schools also operate without the requisite No Objection Certificate (NOC) of the state government.
The list further highlights that as the education department has no jurisdiction over these schools, there has been no inspection of the infrastructure and academic facilities being provided by the schools. Non-state board schools are also found to be flouting norms of the RTE Act by not adhering to the age limits set for admission to nursery and some schools are also involved in carrying out advance admissions for the year 2020.
According to an education department official, non-state board schools neither teach Marathi nor educate students in Indian history. Schools that are run under the religious and linguistic minority reservation only have 5-10 per cent students belonging to that minority and the remaining seats are given away to students from other.
J.M. Abhyankar, former state board chairman and currently president of the Shiv Sena Shikshak Sena, said, “The non-state board run school managements have a high-handed attitude and tend to misbehave with education department officials when they visit the school to investigate. These schools should be brought under the purview of the state government so they do not exploit hapless parents and students,” said Mr Abhyankar.
