Jharkhand Makes Accreditation Mandatory for All Private Schools

The Jharkhand government has decided to take strict action against unrecognized private schools operating in the state. Acting on the Jharkhand High Court’s order, the state has amended the Jharkhand Free and Compulsory Child Education Rules, making it mandatory for all private schools to obtain official recognition.

Currently, around 45,000 unrecognized private schools are functioning across urban and rural areas of Jharkhand, providing education primarily to children from economically weaker backgrounds.

According to Sanjay Kumar, Secretary of the Department of School Education and Literacy, Government of India, Jharkhand has a total of 5,879 schools registered with UDISE codes, comprising 8,37,897 students and 46,421 teachers.

Arvind Kumar, President of the Jharkhand Private School and Welfare Association, stated that the education department has directed all schools to apply online for recognition at the earliest.

However, small private schools are facing difficulties in meeting the 2019 amended land requirements for recognition. The new rules specify that:

• For middle schools (classes 1–8), rural areas must have 1 acre and urban areas 75 decimals of land.
  
  
• For primary schools (classes 1–5), rural areas must have 60 decimals and urban areas 40 decimals of land. Additionally, the land must be either registered or leased in the school’s name for a minimum of 30 years.

This poses a major challenge for tribal institutions, as under the CNT and SPT Acts, tribal land can only be leased for a maximum of 5 years. Due to this restriction, many schools run by tribal communities are unable to meet the new recognition criteria.

The education department has indicated that while the new rules will be implemented strictly, the government is also exploring practical solutions to ensure that the education of underprivileged children is not disrupted.