Mumbai: 55 per cent city schools are minority-run

Mumbai is increasingly becoming a city dominated by minority schools as data from the Deputy Director of School Education reveals Of the 1731 private schools across Mumbairsquos three zones 950 are classified as minority institutions making 55 per cent of private schools in the city minoritybased by linguistic or religious grounds leaving only 45 per cent as nonminority institutionsAccording to the data from the Deputy Director of School Education of the total 421 private schools in Mumbairsquos south zone 245 have minority status in the north zone 240 out of 527 private schools are minority and in the west zone 465 out of 783 private schools hold minority statusThis significant presence of minority schools has raised concerns among parents educators and policy experts Many question whether these schools genuinely serve their intended minority populations or are using their status to bypass obligations under the Right to Education RTE ActRohit Dandawate president of the GPTAThe RTE Act requires schools to reserve 25 per cent of seats for disadvantaged communities including Scheduled Castes SC Scheduled Tribes ST Other Backward Classes OBC and Economically Weaker Sections EWS However minority institutions are exempt from this provision creating a compelling incentive for schools to seek minority status to avoid this mandated reservation ldquoInterestingly the increase in schools granted minority status spiked after the RTE Act was implemented in 2009rdquo said Rohit Dandawate president of the Global Parents Teachers Association GPTA a statelevel coalition of parents and teachers ldquoSeveral schools shielded by minority status claim exemption from the RTE Actrsquos 25 per cent reservation for economically disadvantaged students This leaves room for potential misuse of the minority label to bypass crucial inclusivity requirementsrdquo he addedThe shift toward minority status has been dramatic prior to 2009 Mumbai had fewer than 70 minority schools This number surged to 225 after the RTE Actrsquos passage Between 2013 and 2014 it jumped further surpassing 640 Todayrsquos figures show an almost threefold increase in minority schools over the past decade reaching 950 in 2024From 2014 to 2024 as per the Deputy Director of School Educationrsquos data the number of private schools in the city across three zones grew from 1576 to 1731 marking a 984 per cent increase In contrast minority schools increased from 688 in 2014 to 950 in 2024 reflecting a 3808 per cent riseAudit minority schoolsThe rapid increase has prompted calls for an audit of minority schools to confirm if these institutions truly serve their respective minority communities This would involve assessing student demographics to determine if the majority belong to the minority communities these schools claim to represent Parents and activists argue that without proper oversight minority status is being used primarily to evade RTE compliance Dandawate added ldquoOnce granted minority status these schools are also exempt from the Right to Information RTI Act This makes it crucial for the state government to conduct regular audits review their minority status and revoke it if theyrsquore not admitting minority students or are found violating rules for minority institutionsrdquo Dandawate has raised this issue with the government multiple timesPolicy loopholeAs the number of minority schools in Mumbai continues to rise the debate over their purpose and impact on the cityrsquos educational landscape remains unresolved To some this trend signals a policy loophole that could undermine the inclusive intentions of the RTE Act Many argue that an independent audit could ensure that minority status benefits genuinely reach the intended communitiesAkhil Chitre general secretary of Maharashtra Navnirman Vidyarthi Sena MNVS alleged ldquoMany schools with minority status enrol only a small percentage of students from the communities they are meant to serve This status provides them with benefits such as exemption from reservation policies and greater autonomy in setting fees I urge the education and minority affairs departments to audit these schoolsrsquo enrolments since they gained minority status This is a significant issue and these institutions are not fulfilling their role as minoritydesignated schoolsrdquoA March 2021 survey by the NCPCR found that 625 per cent of students in minority schools nationwide are from nonminority communities In some states this figure exceeds 70 per cent raising further questions about the alignment of minority school status with actual student demographicsA senior official from School Education Department clarified the process for granting minority status ldquoMinority status is granted by the Maharashtra Minorities Development Department with oversight from the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions NCMEI under the NCMEI Act of 2004 The NCMEI ensures that minority communitiesrsquo educational rights are upheld by designating minority status to qualifying institutionsrdquo the official explained ldquoOnce minority status is conferred the School Education Department ensures these schools receive all associated benefits and exemptions However we have received complaints about potential violations and plan to investigate If schools are found in violation of guidelines we will address the matter with the Minorities Development Department and pursue appropriate actionrdquo1731No of pvt schools in Mumbai