Government serves notice to private schools running without permits in Guwahati

Guwahati: At a time when the coronavirus pandemic is keeping students in their homes, the Assam Education department has begun a crackdown on private institutions in Guwahati that are illegally evading taxes.

As per reports, several private schools in Guwahati city are operating without licences or clearances from the concerned authorities. Surprisingly, some private schools and coaching centres have been running without any approval for 10 to 12 years. Now, however, the Government has decided that enough is enough and officials have come knocking.

Amid the coronavirus-induced lockdown, teams of inspectors have started visiting all private educational institutes to check whether these establishments has the necessary papers or not.

The team of inspectors usually includes a senior medical officer and officers from the municipal corporation. They have issued notices to all those establishments who either don't have necessary licence and clearances or have not paid the requisite taxes.

Officials say that this exercise is meant to "clean up the education system", at least in Guwahati, the largest city in the state.

"Across Assam, there are several private schools that are yet to pay trade licence, property tax, etc. The schools are in the name of trusts, NGOs, and societies. That is how they are bamboozling us. We have served notice to them and if they do not reply within a week, we will take action under the provisions of the Municipality Act, 1971", an official told The Sentinel Digital.

Another official said that there are many "illegal" schools in the state. "We will not leave a single school. As per an order of the Government, we are taking steps to ensure that every single school has the necessary documents. There are around 10 schools like that which do not have the licence and we have started the procedure to bring them under the legal framework. If they do not comply with the directives, we will be compelled to seal them", he told this publication.

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