SHILLONG, April 2: Education Minister, Lahkmen Rymbui on Saturday said compliance of the approved rules of 2020 for the setting up of schools in the state will apply to new schools.
He said these rules have nothing to do with the existing schools which have been already recognised by the state government.
“We cannot revisit this step in the case of those which have been already set up and recognized,” Rymbui told reporters.
The government introduced the new rules to ensure that the minimum needs of students, parents and teachers are heeded to. It wanted that the presence of a school in any locality must not create traffic jam or affect the daily activities of people.
The state Cabinet had in May 2020 approved of the new rules for granting permission to set up schools and obtaining recognition and affiliation from the Meghalaya Board of School Education.
Rymbui said the government wants that a school that is coming up has proper land, a playground, parking space etc before it is issued the no-objection certificate.
To a query, he said he does not have the record if any schools have flouted the norms but there are instances, especially in rural areas, where contractors found sanctioned primary schools did not have space and this necessitated the alteration of building plan and shifting of the school from the centre of the village.
“We do not want them to be set up far from habitation but there are some villages where there is space constraint for school building,” the Minister added.
Stating that according to the new rules, the minimum requirement of land for the setting up of a school in urban areas is 2.5 acres and it is 3.5 acres in rural areas, he said the department had taken this decision after experiencing problems.
“There are many schools which do not have the required space and this poses a danger to pedestrians and students as vehicles are parked on the roadside,” he said.
According to the rules, anyone planning to set up a school will need to have a contingency fund of three months for payment of salaries to the teachers and a teacher welfare fund. Also, the appointment of teachers should be as per NCTE norms.