Four nursery, primary schools sealedFour schools near Vellore have been sealed by District Elementary Education Officer (DEEO), Vellore, Kribakaran and Vellore tahsildar Arun on the orders of Collector C. Rajendran and Chief Educational Officer, Vellore, G. Moorthy on Wednesday, for functioning without the approval of the School Education Department. They were Lakshmi Saraswathi Primary and Nursery School, Ariyoor, R.T.P. Vidyalaya, Bungalamedu, Abdullapuram, Sai Krishna Primary and Nursery School, Periya Koil Street, Thorappadi, and INFA Nursery and Primary School, Karugambuthur. Mr. Kribakaran said the schools have not been granted approval as they lacked the required infrastructure. A primary and nursery school should have seven rooms, reinforced cement concrete roofing for all rooms, adequate toilets, and a compound wall (if located on a main road). Arrangements have been made for securing admission in the nearest English medium nursery and primary schools for the students already studying in the schools that were sealed on Wednesday. A total of 70 nursery and primary schools in Vellore district have not been granted recognition, Mr. Kribakaran said. The Collector has issued orders for initiating action against the other schools in the district as well. Recognition would be granted to the unapproved schools if they create the minimum infrastructure facilities, he said. told The Hindu that the department had ensured that every nursery school had the four mandatory certificates . K. infrastructure. Renewal applications were being cleared only after the department inspections were undertaken. yet to comply with norms MADURAI : The process of approval/renewal of nursery schools in Madurai district is nearing completion with the Education Department streamlining procedures in accordance with the new regulations brought in by the Government for nursery schools. "The regulations are working in favour of children and parents. managements of nursery schools fell in line to meet the safety stipulations prescribed by the Government. The positive outcome should be felt by the public". Mallady 30 schools in Madurai dt. renewal nearing completion Shastry V. In Madurai district. Ms. Sridevi held a review meeting with the Elementary Education Department authorities on Saturday where the processed/pending applications were taken up for discussion. . Sridevi. building approval by the Tahsildhar. The district Chief Educational Officer. only 30 out of 277 schools are yet to get the necessary approval while 220 schools undertook implementation of guidelines for receiving renewal certificate.Nursery schools' approval." Meanwhile. sanitation certificate and stabilisation certificate. he said sufficient time was given to school managements to get the certificates/documents. She said the approval process was almost completed. he said adding that classrooms. a senior official in the Elementary Education Department said the `Single Window System' introduced by the Government to enable nursery schools submit documents and get approvals had worked very well. Following regular inspections during the recent months. She pointed out that awareness on safety in nursery schools was high now "and some schools had even closed down after the Government came out with strict compliance measures. safety and sanitation were taken care of through the Government initiative. Sufficient time given Stating that nursery schools were no longer an issue.safety clearance from the fire and rescue service department. furniture and sanitary facilities. August 13. the order was challenged in the Madras High Court by the Tamil Nadu Nursery.000 nursery and primary schools that have failed to conform to safety and infrastructure regulations. UNCERTAINTY surrounds the fate of over one lakh nursery and primary schoolchildren in Tamil Nadu with the State government issuing on April 11 an order asking over 2. 2004). which is being enforced strictly after the fire tragedy in a school in Kumbakonam in July 2004 (Frontline. schools need to get their approval renewed every year by getting certificates for building safety (under the Tamil Nadu Public Buildings Licensing Act. K. But on June 8. the Directorate of Elementary Education issued the order.000 nursery and primary schools to close if they did not have or did not renew the Education Department's approval to function or failed to conform to safety and infrastructure norms by May 31. SRINIVASAN At the cramped entrance of a nursery school during the last academic year. On May 30. Matriculation and Higher Secondary School Management (TNNPM) . Primary. laboratories. The schools must also have sufficient classrooms.The Tamil Nadu government extends the deadline it set for the closure of over 2.V. As per the Nursery Code of 1991 (amended in 1993). 1965) and structural stability from the Public Works Department or a chartered engineer. On the basis of this code. following an appeal made by the schools. this deadline was extended by three months. which also directed that students of those schools be transferred to other institutions in the area. Association. the Education Department formed district-level flying squads to prepare a list of such schools. Coimbatore 96. Meanwhile. He says: "We are not seeking any relief for unapproved schools. Chennai has 235 such schools. According to informed sources. even the schools that have got approval are to be scrutinised for ." On May 31. In the meantime. and those that have never applied for approval.600 unapproved nursery and primary schools in the State. thousands of teachers of the schools ordered closed would be thrown out of their jobs. Some schools that do not have the approval had closed suo motu. moving children from unapproved schools to others can compound the problem. Raviraja Pandian stayed the operation of the order for a month in respect of schools whose renewal applications are pending with the authorities and those that are yet to renew their structural stability and fire safety certificates. the Nursery Code was not implemented strictly all these years leading to the mushrooming of nursery and primary schools in the State. Vellore 320. Now. According to him. Nagercoil 241. including those that have applied for recognition. Moreover. According to its general secretary D. Madurai 220. those seeking renewal. According to the preliminary lists released on June 1. Thanjavur 116. Christdas. Following reports that some schools had reopened in the hope of getting their renewals later. the Elementary Education Department ordered district officials to compile a list of unapproved nursery and unaided primary schools. 25 schools in the southern Madurai and Virudhunagar regions had got an interim stay of the order from the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on the grounds that their applications for renewal of approvals were pending with the government. the schools can be grouped into three: those that have applied for fresh approval. if hundreds of students from unapproved institutions get transferred to an approved one. Tiruchi 130. Kancheepuram 307 and Cuddalore 164. According to Christdas. But the TNNPM Association says that the figure is several times higher. Justice K. A five-member team led by district elementary education officers along with officials from the departments of Health. and put them up at the District Elementary Education offices. None of these schools has been ordered to close as the petition challenging the order was pending with the High Court. Tirunelveli 81. He says that the government needs to consider these issues and give the institutions sufficient time to comply with the norms. But now the government is asking the schools to close down. Fire Service and Public Works is conducting surveys in every district to ascertain the number of such schools. there are about 2. but only time to comply with the norms. Thoothukudi 52. According to the Education Department. Several unrecognised nursery schools in the State had also gone to the High Court against the implementation of the order. Approval for a school is given for a fixed student-and-teacher strength and based on the infrastructure. its strength would suddenly go up without any addition to the infrastructure. framed as far back as 1956. Tamil Nadu had one of the most comprehensive sets of rules the Grant-in-Aid Code under the Madras Education Rules (now. it is self-certification that is happening. furniture. primarily driven by the demand generated by the proliferation of matriculation schools. the matriculation schools needed English medium primary schools to feed them with pupils. The Tamil Nadu Education Rules state: "The competent authority can withdraw the recognition given to any school permanently if the school authority violates any one of the conditions stipulated for recognition.aided. primary education shall be only in the Tamil medium. more than one school . Schools have come up in thatched sheds. But with the expression "sufficient" not defined in the Code. the PWD or a chartered engineer has to issue a "structural fitness certificate".some even in one room of a small apartment. hygiene and general safety (Frontline. that it has sufficient buildings. for setting up a school. which killed 90 children when the thatched roof caught fire. This led to the mushrooming of private nursery and primary schools . Matriculation schools that have a nursery and kindergarten section are also asked to apply for approval.basic amenities and safety norms. IN the wake of the fire at the Sri Krishna High School in Kumbakonam. laboratories. In several instances. managements took advantage of this loophole and set up schools without any playground. the Tamil Nadu Education Rules) . The Tamil Nadu Elementary Education Act does not permit primary education in the English medium." Under the Tamil Nadu Private School Regulation Act.is run on the same premises. But as every builder is a chartered engineer. unrecognised nursery and primary schools have mushroomed in the past decade. unaided and English medium primary section . July 13.. sanitary facilities and adequate playground for physical training activities" (Chapter II Section 10C). According to Rajagopalan. According to Rajagopalan. sanitation and hygiene? How can three or four schools be run from one building? How have the schools.. which applies to all schools in the State. Rajagopalan asked the government to look into questions such as: Why are nursery and primary classes conducted on the first and second floors? Why are kitchens (of the noon-meal centres or of the school) located close to the thatched roof of a school? How are primary schools allowed to function without a playground and without ensuring proper safety. Thus. . The Code sets norms not just for the building but also for sanitation. in some sense. in tall buildings with poor access and in cramped spaces.S. the schools get the fitness certificate from the one who built the school. Under the Act. educationists such as S. classrooms. Thus. which are supposed to follow the norms in the Grant-in-Aid Code of the Tamil Nadu Education Rules. matriculation schools drafted their own Rules in 1978. The Code of Regulations prescribed for matriculation schools says: "The Educational Agency must satisfy. been escaping scrutiny? According to Rajagopalan. 2004). adequate space or proper infrastructure. On June 3. On June 8. According to Rajagopalan. there should be separate toilets for girls and boys. "This. It prepared a code for nursery and primary schools. "was to obviate any hardship and dislocation to the children and parents.The government set up the S." She also said that adequate time had been given to schools to comply with requirements such as ensuring the stability of buildings and replacing thatched structures with non-inflammable materials. This is accentuated with other schools closing admissions. The government. which had no statutory backing. The number of nursery and primary schools would be over 20.V. had been asking schools that do not comply with norms to do so. According to him. and the playground ownership certificate from the Sub-Registrar must be sent to the Education Department. there are today over 4. Several schools awaiting renewal of approval have all but laid siege to the Directorate of Primary Education. In April 2005. sanitary certificate. and no combustible material should be present on the campus. some institutions had not taken the necessary steps. appealed to the government to extend the time limit to get the approval and also to relax certain norms such as allowing the Chennai Corporation's playgrounds to be used by matriculation and nursery schools. According to Rajagopalan. in a bid to free itself from the responsibility of providing schooling for all. Yet. after the Kumbakonam tragedy last year. even this code was practised more in the breach.000 private matriculation schools outside government control. She added: "Ignoring such regulations will seriously compromise the safety of the children who are . most of them simply refused to do so saying that they did not want to be monitored. encouraged such private schools to begin with. On June 5. no other unapproved building should exist in the premises. she said. and the no-objection certificate from the Fire and Rescue Departments. Christdas. THE latest State government move to close down unapproved nursery and primary schools has set off panic among parents who have paid donations and fees for their wards in the unapproved schools. the managements had been asked to comply with the norms and get the necessary approvals before the schools reopened. the government did not pursue this seriously all these years for want of public schools to accommodate the rising demand for nursery and primary education in the English medium. He made it clear that the association would not help schools that flouted norms deliberately." Jayalalithaa said in a statement. The government.000. Chief Minister Jayalalithaa extended the time till the end of August for the nursery and primary schools to comply with the norms. It insists that the kindergarten classes must be conducted on the ground floor. When schools were asked to register under the code. responding to the appeal. The 14-point circular says that the number of students should not exceed the limit mentioned in the register. Chittibabu Commission in 1993 to study the proliferation of unrecognised primary schools in the State. on behalf of the nursery and primary schools. the Directorate of Primary Education issued a circular to all nursery and primary schools seeking government approval to submit on time documents such as building ownership details. the government should also see an opportunity in this and set up more quality public schools. There is no doubt that schools without the required basic minimum safety norms and infrastructure need to be closed. This is totally unacceptable. On June 9. most schools have now realised the importance of complying with regulations and are taking concrete steps." According to her. .admitted in these schools. the Madras High Court dismissed a batch of petitions filed by the unapproved nursery and primary schools against the implementation of the order to close all such schools. But the government has to ensure that children from such schools are accommodated in other schools. According to educationists. following the three-month extension given by the government.