Opening a private school has become very easy: Big relaxation in the strict rules of private land, the struggle for admission of children will end.

Every year with the beginning of the new academic session, the government has taken a revolutionary step towards finding a permanent solution to the immense mental stress, long queues and donations that lakhs of parents had to go through for the school admission of their children. To expand the scope of quality basic education across the country and facilitate private sector participation, it has been decided to comprehensively relax the land and legal norms associated with opening new private schools. Now the decades old complex and rigid rules related to private land ownership and minimum land area have been made rational and practical.

Under this new policy formulated by the Education Department and Urban Development Authorities, trusts, societies and edupreneurs (education entrepreneurs) wishing to establish new schools will no longer have to deal with red tape and complex NOC processes. The direct impact of this decision will be seen in the form of a huge increase in the number of seats in the coming sessions, which will make it easier and transparent for common families to enroll their child in nursery or first class in the school of their choice.

Till now, to get affiliation from CBSE, CISCE or State Education Boards, it was mandatory for schools to have huge acres of land and stringent lease deeds of 30 to 99 years. In densely populated urban areas, the availability of such a large land had become almost impossible, due to which the opening of new schools had stopped and the arbitrariness of the old schools was increasing.

The following major concessions have been made under the new reforms:

• Increase in Floor Area Ratio (FAR): Instead of horizontal expansion of land, vertical construction has been approved. Schools can be run even on less land by building modern multi-storey buildings.

• Relaxation in lease period rules: The way has been cleared for school recognition on registered lease of 15 to 20 years instead of the mandatory long-term lease of 30 years.

• Land Conversion from Agricultural Land to Non-Agricultural Land Easy: The process of getting 143/CLU (Change of Land Use) done for private land for educational use has been made digital and time bound through a single window clearance system.

• Provision for compact and vertical campus: The model for rooftop arena, tie-up to adjacent sports complex or indoor multipurpose hall for playground and indoor sports needs has been validated for recognition.

When supply in a market or system is extremely limited compared to demand, monopoly and exploitation are encouraged. At present, in metros and tier-II cities, there are on an average 10 to 15 contenders for each nursery seat. Due to shortage of seats, schools put pressure on parents in the name of arbitrary development charges, heavy capitation fees and strange interviews.

After the implementation of the new rules, when new, modern and technologically advanced schools will open within a radius of 2 to 3 kilometers of the residential areas of every city, a healthy competition will be created in the market. As soon as the number of seats is balanced in proportion to the demand, arbitrary fee increase by schools and fraud in the name of ‘point system’ will automatically be curbed. Parents will have complete freedom to choose the best option according to their budget and child’s convenience.

Be it Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh or rapidly developing cities like Kanpur, Noida, Ghaziabad, Varanasi, Prayagraj, Meerut or Gorakhpur, with the expansion of population, a huge shortage of primary and secondary schools was being felt in the new residential sectors. Families living in the new colonies coming up around Gomti Nagar Extension, Sushant Golf City or Kisan Path have to send their small children to schools in the old city, 10-15 kilometers away, due to which children waste a long time in bus travel.

With this new policy, new private schools will be opened at the local level in every district of the state. This will not only provide children with world-class education in a safe and quality environment right near their homes, but will also create thousands of new employment opportunities for qualified teachers, administrative staff, transporters and support workers across the state.

Simplifying the rules does not mean that the safety of children and the quality of education will be ignored. The government has clarified that while providing flexibility in infrastructure rules, safety standards have been made more stringent than before.

Every new school must strictly adhere to the following points before recognition:

• Valid NOC from Fire Department and state-of-the-art fire fighting system.

• Earthquake resistant building construction and structural safety certificate.

• Mandatory CCTV coverage in the entire school premises, classrooms and school buses.

• Appointment of trained teachers and modern science and computer labs as per the National Education Policy (NEP).