Chhatrapur: Making a mockery of the education system, as many as 21 private schools under Chhatrapur block in Ganjam district were found to be running without permission from authorities.
Reports said the schools have been running against government norms and have not taken permission for the fiscal year 2017-18, violating the Right to Education Act, 2009.
Pushing the lives and future of students at risk, these schools have not yet taken permission from the primary education department and obtained a no-objection certificate (NOC) from authorities.
Moreover, such schools can get a closure notice at any moment from the administration which will put the future of students in trouble.
As per rules, private schools are required to obtain recognition from the government before enrolling students and imparting education to them. The permissions have to be renewed every year but some schools have been blatantly violating the rules with impunity.
A preliminary probe revealed that the school authorities had kept both the guardians and students in dark. Some of the schools were also found to be flouting the building safety and fire safety norms.
The students fail to appear for Jawahar Navodaya School entrance and scholarship tests. On the other hand, many teachers from such schools are untrained although the government has put a lot of stress on the engagement of fully trained teachers.
Similarly, the government has reserved 25 per cent of seats for poor children in private schools. However, the schools do not extend a helping hand to poor students. PNN