Fresh survey of unrecognised schools likely

BY V L Srinivasan
Hyderabad, March 27: The suspense over the fate of 9,231 unrecognised schools across the State continues with officials of the Department of School Education (DSE) likely to conduct a fresh survey about them in the ensuing summer.
Following the High Court order last year directing the DSE to ensure basic amenities like drinking water, laboratories, toilets, appointment of qualified teachers and provision of playgrounds in all schools, the DSE officials have asked the district education officers (DEOs) to identify such schools.
The DEOs have also been directed to take action as per Section 20 of the AP Education Act 1 of 1982, read with 7 of the Act 27 of 1987. One of the provisions of the Act is that the managements can be prosecuted and jailed for a period of three years if they failed to comply with the stipulated conditions.
Accordingly, the DEOs have identified 1,128 unrecognised schools in East Godavari district, 1,033 in Guntur, 992 in West Godavari, 851 in Krishna, 597 in Hyderabad,382 in Warangal, 371 in Medak, 359 each in Nellore and Karimnagar, 358 in Nalgonda, 356 in Visakhapatnam, 342 in Khammam, 311 in Prakasam, 295 in Kurnool, 285 in Ranga Reddy, 232 in Anantapur, 204 in Srikakulam, 185 in Mahaboobnagar, 174 in Nizamabad, 146 in Adilabad, 108 in Kadapa, 107 in Chittoor and 54 in Vizianagaram district as lacking basic
facilities.
Based on the reports, the DSE not only alerted the parents but also issued notices to the managements either to apply for recognition or shut down their institutions.
While some schools have complied with the directive and applied for recognition, some others, mostly in cities like Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada and Tirupati, sought relaxation from conditions like having
playgrounds as prescribed in the rules. Some managements approached the High Court which asked the DSE officials to consider their applications by looking into their individual basis.
``Keeping this in view, we have decided to conduct a fresh survey after the SSC examinations to know the latest situation on compliance take a decision later,'' senior officials of DSE told Express.
According to them, the DSE does not know whether qualified teachers are appointed and also the curriculum that is being followed by these schools. The students may not even get a chance to appear for public examinations for all these reasons.
Even if these unrecognised institutions are closed, the students will not be put to any hardship as they can be transferred to the government schools, the officials said.