FIRs recommended against 22 private schools in Panipat

editorial@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

Panipat, July 17

The district education authorities on Monday recommended registration of FIRs against 22 private schools being run without affiliation. Some school operators had announced a holiday today and locked their institutions while others locked their premises when teams of the Education Department arrived there.

According to the Education Department, there are around 337 schools in the district that are being run without affiliation. It constituted teams comprising two government schoolteachers each to close down these private schools on Monday. The teams visited the schools and ensured they were locked.

Sources said that the action was taken on the orders of the Punjab and Haryana High Court issued on March 18.

Following the High Court’s order, the department teams visited the schools between 8 am and 11 am. At some places, the teams faced opposition from private school operators while some school operators had locked their institutions before the teams reached there.

According to the sources, the District Elementary Education Officer (DEEO) has recommended registration of FIRs against 19 schools while the District Education Officer (DEO) has recommended registration of FIRs against three high and senior secondary schools.

DEO Bijender Narwal said, “We have sent a written complaint to the Superintendent of Police against three schools out of the total 61 high and senior secondary private schools being run without affiliation”.

Shree Niwas Mittal, district president of the Private Schools Association, said, “Around 15 lakh children are studying in private schools in the state and over 80,000 people are employed in them. Around 1.7 lakh students are studying in Panipat alone.”