Private Schools can be Opened in Urban Areas Only if there is 3000 Square Meters of Land

• 03 Jan 2023

Why In News?

On January 2, 2023, Deepak Kumar, principal secretary of the Uttar Pradesh Board of Secondary Education, said that the state board has made it mandatory to have 3000 square meters of land for opening private schools in urban areas, which was earlier 650 square meters.

Key Points

• Principal Secretary of the Board of Secondary Education Deepak Kumar said that the government has approved the proposed new standards and conditions for recognition of private schools. The government has given this approval after the board rejected the suggestions and objections regarding the new rules, saying that there was no justification.
• Under the new conditions, it will now be necessary to have 3000 square meters of land to open a school in urban areas, which was earlier only 650 square meters. Similarly, 6000 square meters of land will be mandatory in rural areas, which was earlier 2000 square meters.
• Apart from this, the heritage amount has also been increased manifold. It has also been made necessary to have smart class, computer class and various resources.
• According to the order issued by Deepak Kumar, these changes i.e. minimum standards are being set for quality education under the National Education Policy-2020. Therefore, a proposal to amend the regulations of the Secondary Education Council to recognize unfunded schools has been approved.
• The government has directed the Chairman and Secretary of the Secondary Education Council Uttar Pradesh to publish the notification of the standards and conditions in the gazette as per the provision in Section-16(2) of the Intermediate Education Act-1921.
• The main mandatory conditions for new recognition of high school are:
  • Under Chapter 8 of the Society/Trust/Companies Act-2013, it will be mandatory for the registered company (Not for Profit) to be registered and renewed.
  • Rs 5 lakh will be deposited in the name of the school and will be mortgaged in the designation of the inspecting officer. Earlier, an amount of Rs 15,000 was earmarked for the private fund.
  • Rs 1.5 lakh will be deposited as a safe fund, whereas earlier it was mandatory to deposit only Rs 3000.
  • Audio video projectors, large-screen LED TVs will have to be arranged in smart classes and 25 computers will have to be arranged in the computer room.
  • A total of 3000 worm meters of school land in urban areas will have 1000 square meters of land and 2000 square meters of land in rural areas.
  • Athletics, Kabaddi, Wrestling, Kho-Kho, Volleyball, Basketball, Badminton, Lawn Tennis, Open Gymnasium and other outdoor games along with adequate arrangements for indoor games and physical fitness will be there in the sports venue. Earlier there was no condition of such recognition.
  • According to the number of students, chairs, tables, desk benches will have to be arranged for each student at the rate of one square meter. Also, laboratory arrangements will have to be ensured. In the earlier condition, it was mandatory to have 200 sets of decoration with junior classes.
  • There will be detailed conditions for adequate arrangement of clean drinking water, toilets etc., according to the convenience of students, students and disabled people. Earlier, there was only a condition of proper arrangement.
  • Large text material will have to be kept in the library. Detailed arrangements of teaching materials will have to be made.
  • For the presence of teachers and staff in the institution, it will be necessary to have biometric machines, CCTV cameras with voice recorder, DVR, high speed internet connection, Wi-Fi as well as the school website.
  • The school building should be built on safety standards and arrangements will have to be made for rainwater harvesting and drainage along with electricity, solar energy.
• For the recognition of the new school, after fulfilling the essential conditions of the high school, some other conditions will also have to be fulfilled for the operation of the intermediate. Under this, an additional deposit of Rs 1 lakh will have to be made for the security fund of Rs 2 lakh and the reserve fund.