Jajpur: In the wake of revelation that at least a dozen schools were running in Bhubaneswar without NOC from the concerned authority, 150 private schools were found operating without the certificate in Jajpur district.
People have expressed concern over the future of students enrolled in those educational institutions in the district.
Recently, the Directorate of Secondary Education has notified December 6, 2018, asking parents not to admit their children in unauthorised schools which do not have the NOC from competent authorities.
The notification, issued by the Director of Directorate of Secondary Education, has advised parents not to admit their wards in the schools which have not been granted NOC by the competent authority. As many as 150 private schools run without NOC except for nine English medium schools which have received the certificates.
Meanwhile, four days have passed since the notification was issued but the district administration has not given any clarification on the issue. Private schools in Jajpur district have mushroomed after the district started witnessing rapid industrialization. Several schools and colleges have been set up in the district without proper infrastructure which later posed serious problems for students.
The district has over 100 private and residential schools and colleges. Among them only Children’s Paradise Public School at Jaraka, Stewart School at Sukinda, St Mary School at Jajpur Road, PS English Medium School at Orali, Laliteshwar Apex English Medium School at Jajpur, St Xavier High School at Lakshmi Nagar in Jajpur Road, Glorious English Medium School at Jajpur Road, Vyasanagar Public School at Jajpur Road and DU Public School at Chandikhole have obtained the necessary no-objection certificate from the competent authority.
Private schools have mushroomed at Kanheipur, Patuli, Kusunpur and Dala in Jajpur Road which is known as the gateway of Kalinganagar Industrial Complex. Similarly, hundreds of private schools have also mushroomed at Chandikhole, Jaraka, Panikoili, Jajpur Town, Binjharpur and Dasarathpur. Over 10,000 students study in these schools. The future of these students has been hanging fire as these schools have failed to get NOC.
This has happened because the Mass Education and Higher Education Department has allowed the schools and colleges to open without making a proper verification of their infrastructure and other requirements. These schools are allegedly charging exorbitant fees from the students but have managed to escape action by bribing officials of the concerned departments.
According to the guidelines, any person or outfit wishing to open a school should have two acres of land in rural area, 1.5 acre land in municipal area and one acre in municipal corporation area. The state government would never give permission to these schools if they do not have proper land documents. Moreover, these schools should have enough open space for playground and gymnastics. However, none of these schools is adhering to these rules.
When contacted, District Education Officer Krushna Chandra Nayak said there are over 177 private schools in the district. He said the parents should take care while admitting their wards to these schools. The department, on its part, will verify these schools and take necessary steps.
PNN