Govt frames new rules for opening private schools

Bhubaneswar: All private schools in the state have to take permission from district education officer (DEO) before opening the education facilities, according to a recent guideline issued by the state government. The school authorities would have to ensure registration of their school in Unified District Information System for Education.
"We have asked the director of elementary education to form a detailed guideline on this, which would streamline the opening and running of new private schools in the state," said additional secretary, school and mass education department, B N Pradhan.
The new schools would have to fulfil all criteria under the Right To Education (RTE) Act prior to opening the school followed by a clearance from director elementary education of the state.
This year only 14 private schools have been given no objection certificate by the state government to open their institutes so far. As many as 255 applications are pending with different district project coordinators (DPCs) of Sarva Sikshya Abhiyan and 356 applications pending with different block education officers (BEOs).
All DPCs and BEOs have been asked to verify and give recommendations to eligible schools by July 20. A separate portal has also been opened for the purpose, official sources said.
The schools, who have applied for recognition but have not fulfilled the criteria according to the RTE Act, will be given showcause notice for one month within which the school will have to fulfil the criteria.