Mumbai:
After pre-primary schools in the city made merry charging exorbitant fees, parents being weighed down by their toddler's education can finally hope for some reprieve. The state government has finally taken the first step toward reining them in.
Having gone through several complaints, the undersecretary of the state education department has written a letter to the director of school education (primary and secondary), seeking information on the number of primary, secondary and higher secondary schools running nursery sections on their premises.
The letter, dated January 15, states, "The state government permits schools to run primary, secondary and higher secondary sections. There is no policy yet for instating pre-primary sections.
But some trusts and schools run them without permission. The government has received several grievances against these schools that illegally decide on donation and fee amounts for admission.
The government is perusing putting in place rules to regulate these schools, and therefore, needs relevant data from the department."
The information sought concerns the name of the district, trust, school, and the place where the school is run.
Nanasaheb Kute-Patil, president of the NGO Buland Chhava, also a parent who has been following the issue for four years, said, "The inquiry on pre-primary schools running on the premises of primary and secondary schools is required.
They operate illegally, without the government's permission, and charge fees arbitrarily. There need to be regulations to govern them."
Confirming the report, P Patil, deputy education officer, BMC, said, "We received the letter from the education department two days ago, asking for data related to pre-primary schools.
The BMC grants permission to start a school from Standard I to VIII, and the director of school education grants it for the rest of the classes. But there is no government body to give permission to schools to start pre-primary sections. It's illegal to start pre-primary on school premises."
One of the officials from west zone, Mumbai, said, "We have been asked to furnish details of illegally-run pre-primary schools in our zone.
Since we think the government is deciding on some law on pre-primary schools and hence asking for all this data from us. These pre-primary schools need to be nailed down."