Maharashtra: Authorities Order Immediate Closure Of 81 Illegal Schools In Thane – News18

Last Updated:January 28, 2025, 14:41 IST

TMC has ordered the immediate closure of 81 illegal schools in Thane, urging parents not to enrol their children and warning managements of action.

The Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) in Maharashtra has declared 81 schools in the city to be operating illegally and has instructed their managements to close the institutions immediately, as reported by news agency PTI.

The list, published by the TMC’s education department on Monday, includes 79 English medium schools and 2 Hindi medium schools, some of which are managed by well-known business houses.

Most of these unauthorised schools are situated in the Mumbra and Diva areas of Thane, according to the list.

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The civic body has urged parents not to enrol their children in these schools.

Additionally, it has warned of potential action against the school management if they fail to comply with the orders.

Jabalpur District Administration Orders 4 Schools To Refund Rs. 38.09 Crore

The Jabalpur district administration has instructed four private schools to refund Rs. 38.09 crore, which was allegedly collected illegally from parents over recent years. These schools have been given a 30-day deadline to return the amount to parents. Additionally, each school has been fined Rs. 2 lakh for breaching regulations.

The schools involved are St. Joseph Convent Girls Senior Secondary School, Gabriel Higher Secondary School, Delhi Public School Mandla Road, and Royal Senior Secondary School in Sanjeevani Nagar.

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District Education Officer Ghanshyam Soni confirmed that these schools had unlawfully charged fees from 63,000 students between the 2018-19 and 2024-25 academic years. Following an investigation into complaints from parents, the fees were deemed in violation of the Madhya Pradesh Private Schools (Fee and Related Matters Regulation) Act, 2017 and 2020. The school managements have been instructed to deposit the fines into the HDFC bank account of the Commissioner of Public Education within 30 days and provide a receipt to the District Education Officer.