The Education Department officials ordered closure of 144 unrecognised schools in Krishna district even as special teams deputed by the department sealed the institutions.
The department warned the managements against opening the schools without obtaining requisite clearances. Officials identified about 150 schools last year and this year the number of unrecognised schools has come down to 144.
After serving notices and imposing fine on the managements of the schools which did not obtain the mandatory permission, the officials cracked the whip.
Out of 144 institutions, there are 33 primary, 34 upper primary and 77 high schools in the district. Seventy such schools are running in Vijayawada rural and urban mandals and the remaining are located in other mandals, according to District Education Officer (DEO) D. Devananda Reddy.
Speaking to The Hindu on Thursday, Mr. Reddy said nearly 15,000 students were enrolled in unrecognised schools in the district. Students studying in the closed schools would be given admission in Government schools while parents have the liberty to get admissions for them in any recognized school of their choice.
The teams headed by Mandal Education Officers (MEOs) and other staff visited the unrecognized schools on Wednesday and Thursday. They locked the institutions and sealed them after serving notices.
Parents were requested to admit their wards in recognized schools, the DEO said.
“We served notices to 144 unrecognised schools before they reopened, directing them not to admit students and operate the institutions. The list of unrecognized schools was kept at DEO, Dy. DEO, MEO offices and in the website. Stringent action will be initiated against the managements of unrecognized schools if they continued to violate norms, Mr. Reddy said.
