Furious over the lack of action against schools without the mandatory RTE recognition, an NGO has issued a legal notice to the BMC education officer and state education secretary. The NGO has warned that it will file a PIL within next 15 days against the education department for failing to take action against schools openly violating norms of the Right To Education (RTE) Act.

As per the information sought through RTI from the BMC earlier this year there are now 218 schools in the city operating without RTE recognition for the past several years.  The story was first reported by mid-day in its March 16, 2023 edition. As per BMC officials, while some of the 218 schools have failed to renew their recognition for as long as 2016, some have applied after the deadline. Failing to get the renewal, schools could be fined Rs 10,000 per day until they meet the norms and for running the school in the absence of recognition. The management of these schools will also have to pay a penalty of Rs 1 lakh.