Our correspondent
Itanagar: The Arunachal Pradesh State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (APSCPCR) has raised serious concerns over the issuance of trade licenses by the Itanagar Municipal Corporation (IMC) to unregistered private educational institutions and special schools & rehabilitation centers for children with special needs (CWSNs) within the Itanagar Capital Region (ICR).
The Commission has deemed this practice a violation of legal provisions under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, and state regulations.
During a routine inspection led by APSCPCR Chairperson Ratan Anya, it was found that trade licenses had been granted to private institutions such as play schools, daycare centers, crèches, special schools and rehabilitation centers for CWSNs, despite them not being registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, or a similar state-level act.
Concerned by this irregularity, APSCPCR organised a review-cum-coordination meeting recently, bringing together key stakeholders, including the elementary education department, directorate of health services, Social Justice, Empowerment & Tribal Affairs (SJETA) department, women and child development department, ICR deputy commissioner, deputy director of school education and the IMC.
The Commission emphasised that, as per judicial precedents set by the Supreme Court and various High Courts, educational institutions, by virtue of their primary purpose of imparting education, cannot be treated as commercial entities.
According to a notification issued by the education department, no private school is permitted to operate without registration under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, or as a public trust.
Similarly, APSCPCR stressed that special schools for CWSNs must be registered under Section 49 & 50 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016, and Rule 21 of the Arunachal Pradesh Rights of Persons with Disabilities (Amendment) Rules, 2018.
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