New Era School: Chavan meets protesters,officials; decision today

Sanjay Shah,a parent,said,“We are ready to apologise. But we resorted to this extreme step because the director had left us no choice by asking for a 10-day extension for the decision. The protest received an overwhelming response,with so many students and parents coming out on the streets in the rain.”

The matter was recently heard by the Supreme Court,which had directed the Director of Education,Pune,to consider the question of shifting at the earliest,at least within a period of 10 days. The Director of Education subsequently approached the court on Monday and requested a 10-day extension,which was granted.

The school management,the Aditya Birla Group that had taken over the school in 2007,said in a statement that it was inappropriate to begin a debate as the matter was subjudice. It said it had begun repairs soon after the takeover. “The external facelift had been completed,when the engineers found the building to be in a poor condition and unsafe.”

Consequently,the management commissioned “three BMC-empanelled structural engineers (viz. Mahimtura Consultants Pvt. Ltd.,Shashank Mehendale and Associates and Structwell Designers and Consultants) to conduct a detailed scientific test on the structural stability of the building and these consultants certified that the 77-year-old building is unsafe. Hence the decision to move to a new location,and reconstruct the building was taken.”

A management member said,“The safety of the children is our abiding concern.”

The group runs 42 schools with a total of 45,000 students,and 21,000 of these students study under various SSC boards. The management claims that it has given a written undertaking to the Education Department “to bring back the students of the SSC sections,as soon as the Gowalia Tank premises is ready for operation.”

The management also said it is confident of completing the new structure in two years. It has,meanwhile,approached the Supreme Court to give permission to start class X at the Shri BPK Sahakari Vidya Mandir at Tardeo.