203 unrecognised schools in Trivandrum

Majority of them are not child-friendly, says SSA

October 01, 2014 12:00 pm | Updated April 18, 2016 09:06 pm IST - THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:

The Jawahar English Medium School at Pathirapally, Kudappanakkunnu, which is in the dock for allegedly locking up a child in a kennel, is only one among the 203 schools that are functioning without recognition in the district.

Data gathered by the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) from the district shows that 49 of them are within the city limits. A majority of them are not child-friendly, a strict condition laid down by the Right to Education Act and the Kerala Education Act.

Sources in the SSA said that most of these schools started as neighbourhood kindergartens and gradually added classes every year, as per demand. The practice adopted by the management, according to a senior SSA official, is to follow a particular syllabus and then club the students to a nearby recognised school to write the board exams.

“The quality of teaching is poor and facilities pitiable, but still parents admit their wards to these schools just because the medium of instruction is English. Though it is another matter that the students are taught in their mother tongue, in reality,” said the official.

If one goes strictly by the rules, including the mandatory requirement of a minimum 50 cents to start a lower-primary school, a majority of these schools will fail to qualify.

Additional Director of Public Instruction L. Rajan told The Hindu that under the RTE, all schools had to get recognition and, accordingly, the government had given time for schools to get the same.

Education Secretary A. Shahjahan said that by March 31, 2015, the process to recognise schools that satisfy the criteria — such as basic amenities, qualified teaching staff, and adequate campus area — would be completed and the institutions would be notified.

When the 2015-16 academic year begins, there would be no unrecognised institutions here, he added. If any school was found to be functioning without recognition, they would be shut down and a fine of Rs.1 lakh would be levied as mandated by the RTE.

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