Admissions closed for students’ safety: Khar Education Society

Khar School halts new admissions due to safety concerns over 85-year-old building's third floor collapse. Reconstruction plans underway.

MUMBAI: Following a Thursday report in the Hindustan Times about the sudden closure of Khar School, which shocked students, the board of trustees of Khar Education Society came up with a clarification on Friday, stating that it decided to halt new admissions to Class 11 and first year (FY) in its junior and degree colleges to ensure students’ safety.

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The board of trustees said that the institute’s building, which is 85 years old, has a third floor that was built 40 years ago using hybrid construction techniques that have rendered it dangerous. The yearly repair work on the third floor had commenced. However, despite repeated repairs, issues such as leakages persisted, and part of the roof collapsed during the holidays. Structural engineers from the BMC panel inspected the floor and declared it unsafe for use.

“Following this, we are short of at least 10 classrooms. So, we decided to stop new admissions for the current academic year and allow current students to complete their education in junior and senior colleges,” the board stated. The Gujarati medium school, state board, and other board schools run by KES remain unaffected.

The board of trustees also informed the education department and the University of Mumbai about the situation, and both authorities acknowledged the trustees’ letter. “We also provided additional information demanded by the authorities about the closure of admission from the current academic year,” a trustee pointed out. They also emphasized that no employees currently working at KES will be laid off due to the halted admissions.

The trustees also revealed plans to reconstruct the old building, stating that various experts have been appointed for the task. “We want to do everything in a legal manner, so we are planning the reconstruction in phases. The initial documentation work is going on,” the board stated, adding that the existing institutions would continue to operate even after redevelopment.