Plea to shut unrecognised schools

CHENNAI: A public interest litigation has been filed in the Madras high court to direct the Tamil Nadu government to ensure that all unrecognised schools are closed by the end of 2015-16 academic year and students of such institutions are placed in other neighbourhood government/government aided /unaided schools to enable them to continue their education in recognised schools.

When the petition filed by CHANGE India, represented by its director A. Narayanan, came up for hearing before a Division bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice Pushpa Sathyanarayana, Special government pleader D Krishnakumar accepted notice.

The bench said counter affidavit be filed within four weeks and rejoinder to be filed within two weeks thereafter. It listed the matter for March 7.

The petitioner sought to quash two government orders dated August 18, 2015 and to restrain the State government from granting recognition to the schools, which have not fulfilled the norms specified in a G.O dated July 21, 2004 relating to land area and infrastructural facilities.

The petitioner said based on the report of Justice Sampath commission of inquiry, which was appointed to probe the Kumbakonam school fire accident in which 94 students died, and the recommendations made by Chittibabu committee relating to infrastructural facilities for matriculation schools, the government issued an order on July 21, 2004 directing that as a condition of recognition, every matriculation school should fulfill the minimum land area and other infrastructural facilities spelt out in the G.O.

By another two G.Os, seven years time was granted to fulfill the norms. The time limit ended in 2011.

Thereafter, the school education department in 2013 constituted a seven-member committee to deal with the issue of minimum land area for giving recognition to those schools not fulfilling the norms and submit its recommendations.

However, the said report has not seen the light of the day. While so, the school education department has now proceeded to give temporary continual recognition till May 31 to as many as 746 matriculation schools, which have not fulfilled the conditions.

The government issued the two impugned orders violating the Justice Sampath commission report, Chittibabu committee report, several G.Os and the Supreme Court directions, Narayanan said.