HYDERABAD: In what has come as a relief to many aggrieved students and parents, the Director of School Education has allowed 340 private schools, that were not granted Extension of Temporary Registration (ETR), to submit nominal rolls of students appearing for SSC examination 2019. The decision was taken on humanitarian grounds in view of the future of 15,000 children enrolled in Class 10 in these schools. It may be recalled that in November last year, students from 280 private schools had been given permission by the State Government to appear for the examination.
Academicians say this is a routine exercise undertaken every year before the commencement of SSC examination. The irony is that the department doesn’t grant recognition to erring schools at the beginning of an academic year, but eventually, at the fag end of the session, relaxes the norms. This, said Chava Ravi, general secretary, Telangana State United Teachers Federation (TSUTF), beats the very purpose of granting affiliations and recognition to private schools in the first place.
“According to the Andhra Pradesh Educational Institutions Act, all schools need to have recognition before that can start holding classes. But private schools continue to function without proper affiliation, without any fear because they know that at the end of the academic year, they will get the go-ahead from the department and that hall tickets would be issued to their students,” Ravi said.
S Madhusudhan Reddy from Telangana Recognised Schools Management Association said that government and the Education Department is usually left with no option but to relax norms for many schools. Reddy said it is not possible for several private schools to adhere to fire safety norms such as the mandate of having 20 feet space around the school building.
Reddy added: “We have proposed that norms be made mandatory for new schools while for existing ones with necessary equipment can go on as they are today. Instead of fire NOC, give clearance to these schools on the basis of an inspection report.”