Dhanas School violating rules, running illegally, claims resident
Sehajjot Senior Secondary School in Dhanas village has run into hot water as a local resident has filed a complaint with the UT education department claiming that the school has been running illegally, without being duly recognised by the department.
Sehajjot Senior Secondary School in Dhanas village has run into hot water as a local resident has filed a complaint with the UT education department claiming that the school has been running illegally, without being duly recognised by the department.
According to the complainant Ranjit Kaur, the school has also flouted safety precautions as it does not have a proper ventilation system or a fire escape route.
The complainant, who owns a sweet shop in the area, said that the “illegally”constructed school had led to over-crowding and traffic congestion in the area. She also alleged that the school’s building was not safe and might collapse any time.
Kaur in her complaint has also added that despite the building being unsafe, the school’s owner had raised it to a couple of floors.
As if that were not enough, the complainant even wrote to the UT estate officer as well as chief engineer, CPWD, Chandigarh asking them to inspect the site and to take appropriate action against the school’s owner.
The complainant had lodged an official complaint with the education department in August, soon after which a letter was issued by the district education officer (DEO) to the deputy commissioner (DC) to look into the same.
However, the complainant’s husband Gurvinder Singh said that no action had yet been taken in spite of their repeated complaints since July.
The school’s principal Daljit Singh in his defence deemed the complaints levelled against him and the school as baseless. “It is as if the complainant is seeking revenge for an old rivalry. Besides, our school is recognised with the PSEB (Punjab School of Education Board),” Singh said.
What norms say ?
Under the Right to Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009; no school can be established without obtaining certificate of recommendation, according to which, no school, other than a school established, owned or controlled by the appropriate government or the local authority, shall, alter the commencement of this Act.