Mumbai: FIR against illegal school in Dharavi

Morning Star English School in Mumbai's Dharavi allegedly operated without a certificate of recognition, leading to an FIR being filed against its secretary, Sujabai Rajakumar.  The students of this unauthorised school, Morning Star, will now be accommodated in nearby schools.

The first FIR was filed against school that had 727 students from Class 1 to 8.  FIR was registered on April 20 at Dharavi police station against school director Sujabai Rajakumar under section 18 (5) of the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009 for running the school without obtaining the certificate of recognition. It followed a complaint by the education sub-inspector from South zone.  

According to the FIR, The school’s permission to run only primary classes 1 to 4 was valid until May 2018, and the school was expected to renew the permission thereafter. However, it was found that the school was running without any recognition.

Education Inspector for South, Devidas Mahajan, said, The department is merely following the process. After a school is declared unauthorised, it will be shut and has to pay a fine of Rs 1 lakh. If the school continues to function, it has to pay a fine of Rs 10,000 per day. However, if it fails to do so, an FIR has to be filed against the school.