THE NAVI Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) has recommended cancellation of recognition of five private schools for depriving students of education because of pending fees.
NMMC Commissioner Abhijit Bangar on Friday recommended revoking the no-objection certificate of four CBSE-affiliated schools and
cancelling the recognition of a state Board school to the deputy director (Education), Mumbai Division.
While four of the schools – New Horizon Public School, Airoli; Terna Orchid International School, Sector 1, Koparkhairane; Ryan International School, Sanpada and Amrita Vidyalaya, Nerul – are affiliated to CBSE, St Lawrence School in Vashi is affiliated to the state Board.
“Schools should not do anything that will harm students’ academics and give them any kind of mental trauma by asking for fees in front of other students or not allowing them to join online classes. By taking such steps, we are ensuring that such incidents do not happen in the future,” Bangar told The Indian Express.
“Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, many students have lost their parents and many parents have lost their jobs. Hence, schools should cooperate,” he added.
Civic officials said that NMMC’s education department had received several complaints from parents who have not paid fees in these schools. While many students have not been shown exam results, many others have not been promoted to higher classes and removed from online classes.
“Following such complaints, NMMC had issued written showcause notices to all the five schools multiple times. However, the schools did not follow instructions and continued to deprive students whose fees were due,” said an official.
“According to Section 16 of the Right to Education Act (RTE), 2009, no child can be left behind until he or she completes his or her
primary education. However, the act of these schools has caused mental distress to the students. Sections 16 and 17 of the Act have been violated by the schools. Similarly, due to non-compliance of the government order, the terms and conditions of the no-objection certificate issued to them by the government have also been violated,” the official added.
