Mumbai: In a major pre-admission season crackdown, the BMC’s education department on Friday published a notice naming 164 schools allegedly operating within the corporation’s limits without the mandatory recognition from either the state govt or the civic body, and directed their managements to initiate closure in coordination with parents. Issued under Clause 18 of the Right to Education Act, 2009, the notice states that no school can function without recognition and cautions parents against admitting children to unauthorised institutions as the new academic year is set to begin in June.The schools listed in the public notice are spread across several parts of the city, including Dharavi, Kurla, Govandi, Kandivli, Jogeshwari, Vikhroli and Bhandup, and include primary and secondary sections across English, Hindi, Marathi and Urdu mediums. The move is expected to affect thousands of students studying in these institutions.When asked whether BMC schools had the infrastructure and teaching staff to absorb the likely influx of students from the unrecognised schools, deputy municipal commissioner (education) Prachi Jambhekar said the civic body was prepared. “It is the BMC policy that no child can be turned back, and any child who comes is to be given admission. We will opt for double shifts, more divisions, extra hours, but we will accommodate,” she said. Jambhekar added that the notice was also intended to alert parents at the start of the admission season so that they do not enrol children in such schools.The development comes months after TOI reported in Sept 2025 that as many as 674 similar schools were operating across Maharashtra without certification or recognition.Meanwhile, the Watchdog Foundation has written to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and MCGM authorities seeking an amnesty window for the affected institutions. “The loss to livelihoods and the education of students will be too devastating. At least some window should be provided for the schools to make the changes, improvements and get the necessary permissions. It will be nearly impossible for students in senior classes to secure admissions because of differing mediums, curricula, and simply a lack of seats,” said Godfrey Pimenta, trustee of the foundation.RTI activist Nitin Dalvi said many such schools fail to meet basic norms required for recognition. “Such schools don’t have certification because they don’t have adequate infrastructure, like a ground or suitable classrooms. Parents mostly send their children to these schools only up to the eighth or ninth standard, after which they are transferred to a proper school for their board exams,” he said.
