The education department plans to launch a publicity campaign to alert parents about the unrecognised schools in their localities. The focus will be on the old city, where there are a large number of unrecognised schools. The department has decided to hire autorickshaws and fit them with public address systems. It is ready to spend Rs 5,000 on each auto, which will campaign for two weeks till the end of this month. The autorickshaws will be deployed in localities where there are the most number of unrecognised schools.
Officials will read out a list of unrecognised schools over the public address system, cautioning parents against admitting their kids in them. They will also announce that the department will not be responsible for the consequences if parents ignore their warning. Meanwhile, the managements of these illegal schools have found different ways to circumvent the campaign against them. For instance, they are shifting their schools to other premises and informing parents of the ‘change in address’.
Said Subba Reddy, district education officer, “The department has been conducting raids on illegal schools and closing them every year. However, the managements change the names and addresses of these schools and continue to run them. Without the parents’ cooperation, it becomes difficult for the department alone to check unrecognised schools.”