Indian Express: Mumbai: Tuesday, April
14, 2015.
Alleging
violation of the Right to Education (RTE) Act, which mandates that every child
in the age group of 6 to 14 years will have a right to free and compulsory elementary
education (till Class 8), a complaint submitted by an education forum to the
Maharashtra State Commission for Protection of Child rights (MSCPCR) says that
over 1,100 primary schools run by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)
do not have Class 8 currently.
“There are
over 4.07 lakh students studying across 1,270 primary schools of the civic
body, but Class 8 have been started in only 100 of them. We obtained this
information under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. This forces students to
shift to expensive schools… Many, however, prefer to quit schooling as it is
out of their reach.
Some are
forced to enter child labour,” says the letter submitted by “Mumbai Shikshan
Companikaran Virodhi Abhiyan”.
The letter
cites the example of the BMC-run Ayodhya Nagar School in Chembur, stating that
65 of its students were supposed to be in Class 8 in 2012-13, but had to leave
the school as it had classes only till Std 7 and join a private school.
The
complainant has appealed to the MSCPCR that the expenses incurred by the
parents of students who were supposed to study in Class 8 for the 2012-13
academic year should be reimbursed.
“Over 90 per
cent BMC primary schools are denying children their rights. We urge lawmakers
to come up with solutions before June 2015 so that students are not denied
their basic right,” said Ghanshyam Sonar, forum member.
The
complainant has said that since Class 8 is not there in many civic-run schools,
which forces students to study in a private school or drop out, their entire
annual fees and expenses should be reimbursed by BMC administration.
“In this
regard, directions must be given to BMC, school education minister, mayor and
head of BMC’s education committee. It is the responsibility of the state
government and local administration to facilitate requirements according to the
provisions of the RTE Act,” says the complainant.
The group has
also appealed to MSCPCR that inquiry must be set up against the school
education minister, mayor and BMC’s education committee chairman for violating
RTE Act as well as the Commissions for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005.
“The
definition of primary schools was changed in 2009 after the RTE Act was
introduced, to include Class 8. It’s true that many BMC schools are yet to
comply with the RTE Act and have only till class 7, forcing many children to
drop out as they cant afford to study in a private school. This needs to be
addressed urgently,” said a BMC official.
Deputy
Municipal Commissioner Ramesh Pawar said, “We are currently in the process of adding
Class 8 in about 289 more primary schools.”
The MSCPCR,
meanwhile, has sought a response from the BMC after which it will pass an
order.
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