18 North Mumbai schools fail the legality test

MUMBAI, August 2: The state government has released the names of 18 schools in North Mumbai which have been declared as illegal and have ...

MUMBAI, August 2: The state government has released the names of 18 schools in North Mumbai which have been declared as illegal and have asked parents not to enrol their children with these institutions. The notification, prepared by the education inspector in-charge of North Mumbai, was released last week.

The West Zone education section will also release a list of illegal schools under its jurisdiction. Sources say the list includes 21 illegal schools.

The state Education Department releases a list of illegal schools every year The schools declared as illegal in North Mumbai are: Shri Vallabh Vidyalay (English-medium) at Sion; Bhimji Khimji Swadyay Bhavan (English), Matunga; Dnyanprakash Education Society-run Aadarsh Hindi Vidyalay, Antop Hill; Saraswati Bhavan-run U M Thevar High School, Dharavi; Gulshan Milad Urdu High School, Kurla-Andheri Road; Jarimari, Maharashtra Urdu High School, Payalipada, Trombay; Maharashtra Parisar Vikas Samajseva Sangh-run Maharashtra Bal Vikas High School, Deonar(Hindi-medium); Bharatiya Balvikas Education Society-run Janata Urdu High School, Deonar; Maharashtra Shiksha Niketan High School, Chembur (Marathi/Hindi medium); New Mahatma Gandhi Memorial High School, Chembur (Marathi/Hindi medium); Sant Dnyaneshwar Vidyalay, Chembur (Marathi-medium); Anjuman Imaytul Islam Urdu High School (Urdu-medium), Chembur; Ruby English Medium High School, Chembur; Savitribai Phule Vidyalay (Marathi-medium), Ghatkopar; Maheshwari Education Society-run Maheswari Vidyalay, Ghatkopar; Sanghmitra Vidyalay, Ghatkopar (Marathi); Shri Ramkali Sanman Singh English Medium High School, Bhandup; and Bombay Cambridge High School, Bhandup.

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The state Education Department releases a list of unauthorised schools every year on the basis of complaints received from its own inspectors as well as members of the public. They are institutions which have not been registered with the government. Education inspectors of various zones prepare lists on the basis of a state governmentdirective.

Rameshchandra Kanade, School Education Secretary told Express Newsline that the government has issued a notifications in all districts. After these institutions are identified, the names are handed over to the police.

Follow-up action — whether the schools have been shut down — is largely left to the police, Kanade says. However, the government discusses the matter with its education inspectors at regular, monthly meetings, he adds.

Since this year’s list has been released two months after the academic year commenced, students who have already been enrolled with these schools may have difficulty securing admissions elsewhere. However: “They are supposed to make inquiries with the Education Department before they join the schools,” Kanade explains. “There is a lot of risk involved, and such students cannot take the HSC/SSC examinations,” he adds. The government can only issue warnings, Kanade says, adding that the list is ordinarily issued every year at the beginning of theacademic year.