Maharashtra Illegal Schools: 674 Shut Orders Issued, Zero Action Taken.

Unmesh Gujarathi
Sprouts News Exclusive
Contact: +91 9322755098

An RTI inquiry reveals that despite a 2023 directive to shut 674 illegal schools in Maharashtra, no concrete action has been taken. Officials lack records, raising concerns of negligence or data suppression. Sprouts News exposes the systemic failure, questioning the credibility of education authorities and demanding urgent transparency and accountability.

In January 2023, the Director of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education, Maharashtra, issued a statewide directive to take strict action against 674 unauthorized schools. Instructions were given to all regional deputy directors and education officers, mandating that no illegal schools should be operational during the 2022–23 academic year. These directives were backed by provisions under Section 18(5) of the Right to Education (RTE) Act. Officials were also warned that failure to act would result in disciplinary action under Rule 10 of the Maharashtra Civil Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1979.

However, a startling revelation has come to light through a Right to Information (RTI) inquiry filed by education rights activist Nitin Dalvi. Two years after the orders were issued, the Director’s office still lacks any concrete data on the actions taken against these schools. This development raises serious concerns about transparency, accountability, and enforcement within the state’s education system, according to Sprouts News investigations.

In an effort to trace the actual status of the 674 schools, Nitin Dalvi submitted an RTI application directly to the Directorate of Education. He requested information on the number of schools that were shut down, the fines imposed and collected, criminal cases filed, and any disciplinary action taken against officers who failed to act.

Instead of providing the requested details, the Director’s office redirected the RTI to all regional deputy director offices across Maharashtra. This transfer of responsibility indicated that the Director’s office did not possess the required information. According to Dalvi, this is either a case of deliberate suppression of data or a complete failure to implement the directives. He alleges that this is nothing more than a farce of enforcement while the future of thousands of students remains at risk.

Among the five regional offices that received the RTI, only the Kolhapur Division responded. Shockingly, they too admitted to having no information about any actions taken against unauthorized schools. Kolhapur’s deputy director further transferred the query to district education officers in Kolhapur, Sangli, Satara, Ratnagiri, and Sindhudurg, passing the burden further down the chain.

This chain of responsibility-shifting reveals a deep administrative vacuum. Despite the initial order, no consolidated data exists at either the state or divisional level. This supports the assertion that there has been no serious follow-through on the government’s directive to shut down illegal schools. According to Dalvi, this deliberate inaction could be linked to financial exploitation of these unauthorized institutions by officials.

In a previous legislative session, Maharashtra’s Education Minister Dada Bhuse stated that 388 private schools were officially recognized, criminal cases were filed against 99 institutions, and fines were collected from 36 schools. These figures stand in stark contrast to the opaque response from the Directorate of Education.

This discrepancy raises critical questions: Is the Education Department withholding facts, or was the minister provided with inaccurate data? Rohit Dandvate, President of the Global Parents Teachers Association, has publicly questioned the credibility of the minister’s statement, demanding accountability and clarity.

With two years gone and no verified action against the 674 unauthorized schools, the state government’s commitment to upholding the Right to Education Act appears increasingly hollow. Sprouts News urges state authorities to make public the full status report of the action taken and ensure that policy directives are enforced with transparency.

As it stands, this situation reveals a disconcerting gap between official declarations and ground-level enforcement. The lives and education of thousands of children are at stake, and Sprouts News will continue to monitor and report on this pressing issue.