Thiruvananthapuram: About 1,800 unrecognized schools across Kerala will be put under lock and key from the next academic year to comply with the provisions of the Right to Education Act 2009. These schools had failed to meet the criteria as laid out in the act.
Sources in the state education department said that the government was keen to implement last year’s decision to close down the schools. The department of general education has instructed the district education officers to take the necessary steps to shift students in the unrecognized schools to recognize schools in the vicinity.
The managers of the unrecognized schools have been served notices to wind up operations two months ago. Though some of the school managements have managed to obtain stay orders from the court, the government expects to get the stay vacated to ensure compliance to the central act.
The state government invited applications from school managements seeking government recognition last year. The candidate schools were required to have at least 3 acres of land, 300 students on average for the past three years, permanent buildings and qualified teachers.
Applications were invited in two stages for schools following the Central Board of Secondary Education syllabus and the Kerala state syllabus. Though 3,400 schools sought government recognition, only about 900 made the cut. The rest of the schools have come under the axe now.
The Right to Education Act, which came into effect on April 1, 2010, stipulates that unrecognized schools must be shut down across India. People who refused to comply with the law could be fined up to Rs 1 lakh. If they continue in operation, they could be fined Rs 10,000 each day until they close.
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