Maharashtra govt gets notice over 1,300 schools

Mumbai: A day after the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) issued a notice to the state government for its alleged decision to close 1300-odd Zilla Parishad schools with less than 10 students studying in each, education minister Vinod Tawde said on Thursday that he will respond to the NHRC after consulting with legal experts and educationists. He further said that though the schools were shutting, the students and teachers wouldn’t be affected, as they will be shifted to other schools.

Most schools mentioned in the notice are based on a concept of ‘wasti shalas’, widely known as old community schools, which were introduced in the year 2000 through a government resolution. The NHRC took ‘suo motu’ cognisance on the basis of media report about the closure of these schools and asked the state for a detailed report in the matter within 4 weeks.

Talking to The Asian Age, Mr Tawde said, “We will ensure that all the students and teachers are accommodated in other schools.” The concept of wasti shalas is such that if a village has more than 100 students and do not have a school within one kilometre vicinity then the school is run by the community with the state’s backing.