MUMBAI, APRIL 27: Continued for years together essentially as a political exercise, the Bombay High Court today put an end to the arbitrary method of the State Government sanction for running Marathi medium primary and secondary schools in the district and rural areas in the State. Accordingly, starting from this academic year 2000-2001, two committees have been set up with the court's sanction that will independently assess the applications and give their recommendations.Those in the decision making process will include members nominated by the vice chancellors of the respective universities in whose jurisdictions such schools will be opened as well as nominees of the Chancellor of all the universities in the State - the Governor.Special priority will be given to the opening of schools in around 11,000 bastis and wadis (colonies) across the State where the light of education has not yet reached. Taking note of the financial crunch of the State and to banish any nexus of making money making while opening a school, the bench has also directed that priority will be given to those institutions that are willing to run the schools on a permanent no-grant basis.However, in what could raise eyebrows, the high court has directed, in keeping with the State Government's suggestions, that no new all girls' school in the Marathi medium will be opened in the State any more. This is attributed to a feeling among the State Government officials that such schools do not serve the purpose of education. A view, the court seems to have accepted.The exhaustive directions from the court of Justice A P Shah and Justice D Y Chandrachud came when the bench were hearing half a dozen petitions by various parties either challenging the approvals granted to others or the rejections granted to themselves. It seemed an annual drill where every year numerous petitions would be filed against the Government's sanctions to such schools. The division bench of Justice Shah then gave a notice to the advocate general asking if there was any policy for sanctioning schools in the State. Advocate general Goolam Vahanvati submitted that the State Government had with them a draft report on the rules to be made and that was submitted to the court for its approval.Accordingly now, the bench has directed: State will draw up a masterplan on the needs of schools in the various districts in the State for the next 10 years. The existing list of the secondary and higher secondary schools will be updated and for the first time a plan on the primary section will have to be completed. The masterplan though will include only Marathi medium schools and not schools of religious and linguistic minorities.The population limit should be 10,000 per school and there will be a quota of 100 for primary schools, 300 for secondary schools and 50 for higher secondary schools annually. All the schools will have to be co-ed and there will be no all-girls school.State should follow the `Shikshan-hami' yojana of Madhya Pradesh Government and allow gram panchayats to run schools. An annual expenditure of Rs 13,000 should be marked out for the schools.The scrutiny procedure of the applications has been decentralised from the Mantralaya's corridors and will now be done through two committees where the first committee will be a district level one where all education officers of the district will be members besides two nominees from the vice chancellor of the nearest university.The second committee will include the director of education, the chairman of the State Council for Education, the chairman of the State secondary and higher secondary board and two nominees of the Governor. Besides, the grant to the schools will begin after the first four years. Where 20 per cent of the grant will come in the fifth year, 40 per cent by the 6th year, 60 per cent by the 7th year and 100 per cent from the 8th year. However, no school can claim a grant as a right and will have to weigh well on the gradation chart showing good results and good attendance of students. For the fixing of the tuition fees, the State has submitted that a cabinet sub committee has already been set up.The court has directed the two committees for the scrutiny of applications to be set up in 10 days and to immediately get to work on them for the academic year 2000-2001.
