Private schools to remain shut on Teachers’ Day in Bhopal

BHOPAL: A Controversy around the of recognition of around 1,500 private schools within the state has affected over four lakh students studying in classes 9 to 12. Taking situation into consideration, private schools in the state have decided to remain shut on September 5 which is Teachers' Day.

Schools have alleged that the school education department denied them recognition at the last moment, putting the future of the students in jeopardy. Ajit Singh, president of Private School Owners' Association said, "The schools had submitted the required paperwork and fee for recognition but the secretary of school education refused to sign on the papers after they had been passed by other officials. The schools wasted time waiting to see their recognition uploaded on the education portal. At the last minute, they were told that the school was not found eligible for recognition".

He further added, "All the schools that were derecognized are old schools which are running from the last 10-15 years. If they were eligible for recognition 10 years ago, how did they stop fulfilling the criteria suddenly? This is tyranny of the education department to extract money from school owners. We will keep the schools closed and refrain from celebrating Teachers' Day as a sign of protest."

The education department on the other hand claimed that the schools had not submitted their papers until the last minute and did not even fulfil the basic essentials.

The school education department has extended the date for enrolment and filling of exam forms to September 15. An official of the department told a source that the special committee which is headed by the school education minister Vijay Shah will review its decision. "We have sent the files to the law department and the committee will have a hearing on August 28 to settle the matter," said an official of the school education department.