Bihar government to crack down on arbitrary private schools; Major decision to launch mega-inspection campaign on July 1st Yogi-like strictness on the arbitrariness of private schools in Bihar: Statewide inspection campaign will start from July 1st, recognition will be canceled if rules are ignored

There is a very relieving news for all those parents living in Bihar, who teach their children in private schools and are troubled every day due to the arbitrariness of the schools or lack of basic facilities. The state government of Bihar has now made full preparations to improve the functioning of the private schools of the state and crack down on them. The government has announced that a thorough on-ground inspection of the recognized private schools running in all the districts of the state will be conducted.

For this, a special investigation campaign will be conducted for one month from July 1 to July 31 by the Education Department. Education Department Secretary Vinod Singh Gunjiyal has issued strict guidelines to all the Divisional Commissioners of the state for this.

Why was there a need for this special campaign?

In the official letter issued by the Education Department, it is clearly stated that under the ‘Right to Education Act 2009’ (RTE Act), ‘Free and Compulsory Education Rules 2011’ are fully applicable for all children in Bihar.

According to the rules, whenever a private school applies for recognition, it is given recognition only after the prescribed standards and physical verification (on-site inspection) is approved by the district level committee. But complaints are often received that after getting recognition, the school administration forgets the set rules and standards and starts acting arbitrarily, due to which the children and their parents have to suffer the consequences.

Recognition is given only for 3 years: focus will be on renewal

The Secretary of the Education Department clarified that under the rules, this recognition (approval) given to any private school is given temporarily (provisionally) initially only for 3 years with various conditions.

• Rule of renewal: After the 3-year period is over, schools have to apply for renewal again.

• Objective of investigation: The main objective of this one month intensive campaign is to see whether the schools which have been recognized by the government are still fulfilling all the standards on the ground or are the rules being followed only on paper.

These senior district level officers will be included in the investigation team

To make this special campaign completely transparent and stringent, the Education Department has directly entrusted the responsibility to the administrative officers. Divisional Commissioners have been asked to ensure that the investigation is completed within the stipulated time by deputing the following officers on duty in their areas:

• District Magistrate (DM)

• Deputy Development Commissioner (DDC)

• Sub-Divisional Officer (SDM)

• District Education Officer (DEO)

• Block Development Officer (BDO)

The government has a clear message that there will be no compromise with children’s future and right to education. If during investigation any major violation of standards is found in any recognized school, the department will take immediate legal action against them and strict action like cancellation of recognition.