No fire system, affiliation of Himachal's 1,136 pvt schools withheld

Lalit Mohan

Dharamsala, February 8

The Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education (HPBSE) has put on hold the affiliation of 1,136 private schools for not fufilling the prescribed conditions.

Sources said that the most common reason for the education board withholding the affiliation of 1,136 private schools was that they had not obtained the fire safety certificate from the Fire Department.

As per the guidelines of the Fire Department, the private schools should install a fire safety system in their buildings, which costs lakhs of rupees that many small schools could not afford. Besides, in many cases, the school buildings were old and hence not fit for the installation of modern fire safety equipment.

HPBSE Secretary Rajiv Sharma said that the affiliation of 1,136 private schools had been withheld as they had not complied with the conditions laid down by the broad. He added, “As per the guidelines of the Supreme Court, all schools must have fire safety systems. So, all private schools have been directed to install fire safety systems and get an NOC from the Fire Department. Since many schools have not obtained the NOC, their affiliation has been withheld and notices have been issued to them. If the schools comply with the regulation and install fire safety systems, their affiliation can be restored.”

Sharma said that the affiliation of some schools was withheld, as they had encroached on government land while some schools did not have teachers. The schools had been asked to address the objections so that their affiliation could be restored, he added.

He said that the affiliation of the private schools to the HPBSE was renewed every year. “The board checks whether the private schools are complying with the requisite conditions before renewing their affiliation. This year, 1,136 schools had not complied with the conditions so their affiliation was withheld,” he added. However, private school owners alleged that they were being targeted while government schools, which lack even the basic infrastructure, were being allowed to function.

Supreme Court guidelines not followed

• The HPBSE withheld the affiliation of 1,136 private schools as they had not obtained the fire safety certificate
• As per the guidelines of the Supreme Court, all schools must have fire safety systems
• The affiliation of some schools was withheld, as they had encroached on government land while some schools did not have teachers