No action taken against unrecognised schools in Andhra Pradesh

Visakhapatnam:  About 1,500 corporate private schools, including primary and high schools in Visakhapatnam district are unrecognised. There are more than 150 unrecognized play schools in the city.

There could be more. The Vizag district administration has never done a survey to know the exact number.

Similarly, there are many schools in the state that are not affiliated to any education board. Child welfare organisations have appealed to the government authorities to take stringent action on such educational institutions. 

The state government has been improving the infrastructure at about 5,204 government schools in Visakhapatnam district including zilla parishad schools, municipal schools, model schools  and residential schools under the project Nadu-Nedu. All the government schools are getting refurbished with good facilities such as toilets, benches, compound walls and proper blackboards.

While the chief minister of AP has been putting in efforts to provide quality education to all children studying in government schools, several private school managements not yet submitted documents for approval.

The parents are unaware whether a school is recognised or not and admit their children. Some recognised schools open branches giving an impression that the branch is also recognised. There are a few schools functioning in the second and third floor without having playground and other facilities like a fire exit.

Bala Vikas Foundation (BVF), a registered NGO working for the welfare and development of children, appealed the district administration to form Task force or special teams to identify unrecognised corporate private schools in the city and announce the list to educate the parents. 

BVF secretary Narava Prakash Rao said, "This attempt to identify the unrecognised schools will be a role model to other districts in AP. It will enable the children to enjoy their  rights. The RTE Act is not only a fundamental right but a constitutional obligation to provide free and compulsory education to children till they complete the age of 14  years."      

Meanwhile, around 8 lakh parents signed an online petition demanding the governments not to open the schools till the vaccine for Covid-19 arrives. They also opined that the ICSE, CBSE and State boards syllabus should be revised accordingly due to the lockdown to avoid burden on the students.

Nidhi Gandhi, a parent, said that the online classes should be given in the form of a recorded file or through TV channels as most of the students are using cell phones.

"The radiations emitted by the cell phones causes serious health issues to the kids. The schools should start a special app for online classes through TVs," she said.