Education inspector asks Bombay Scottish School to clarify RTE violation

Mumbai: The education inspector (EI) from Mumbai (South) has sought an explanation from Bombay Scottish School, Mahim, on a complaint filed by a parent regarding violation of the Right to Education Act (RTE), 2009. The complaint pertains to the fact that the school has not been holding the mandatory hours of instruction under various acts, including the RTE. In a notice sent to the school last week, the EI asked for an explanation about the concerns raised by the parent.
In 2019, Bombay Scottish School announced its plans to undergo major renovations and redevelopment of its campus. On account of the Covid-19 pandemic and the delay in government permission, the school could start the construction only in October 2022. After that, classes have been conducted in two shifts and some online sessions.
“Keeping the interest of the school in mind, the staff, students and parents have been cooperating with the shift system,” says the letter. “As we are now in the third academic year, the school renovation project has come at the huge cost of quality of education provided to its present students. In the last two academic years, the school has failed to achieve the minimum working days and instructional hours set by the Council (for Indian Certificate School Examination) and government.”
While the Right To Education Act mandates that a school must complete 200 days a year for Classes 1 to 4 and 220 days for Classes 5 to 10, Lotlikar’s letter states that the school operated for only 182 days in 2022-23. She further estimates that in the current academic year, the school will complete only 186 days. The letter further points out that the school will complete only 651 instructional hours per year for Class 1 to 4, which is supposed to be 900 hours as per the guidelines. It will complete 868 instructional hours for Class 5 to 10, which is supposed to be 1,000 to 1,200 hours.
The letter also points out various issues like online sessions arranged by the school in the current academic year. The other concerns brought out by Lotlikar include the fact that since the school is occupying only one-third of its campus, there are limited facilities and children do not have access to hygienic toilets and drinking water. In her letter, Lotlikar has appealed to the education department to protect child rights and address the concerns raised by her. When HT connected with her, she refused to comment on the letter.
Terming the allegations “baseless”, Sunita George, principal of Bombay Scottish School, claimed that the school had clocked over 950 instructional hours in the last academic year for Classes 5 and above. “Restoration and renovation is on with permissions granted by the regulatory authorities,” she said. “The school PTA and parents have been made aware of the same. There has been no compromise on the academic work, sports, co-curricular activities, hygiene or any facilities.”
While acknowledging Lotlikar’s complaint, education inspector Devidas Mahajan said the department had sought an explanation from Bombay Scottish School.