After upgrading existing facilities and introducing tech-savvy initiatives, the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) chief- Dilip Dhole has now constituted a special vigilance panel to monitor municipal schools in the twin-city.
The seven-member committee includes-deputy municipal commissioner, education officer, local ward officer, health officer, assistant commissioner and system manager. At present, the civic administration runs 36 municipal schools which impart primary and secondary education in Marathi, Urdu, Hindi, Gujarati and semi-English modes to around 8,025 students- mostly coming from poor economic backgrounds.
The panel members will monitor the schools every week and submit the findings directly to the municipal commissioner and concerned departments along with the action taken report on any type of service deficiencies or fresh requirements.
“Any shortcomings detected by the committee will be resolved at the earliest and the action taken report will have to be submitted by the concerned department before the next visit,” said municipal commissioner- Dilip Dhole. The checklist of academic matters includes-cleanliness, condition of school building, painting work, drinking water, fire safety equipment, CCTV cameras, health check-ups, maintenance of electronic gadgets like television sets and computers, proper school uniform and other educational material, enrolment, presence of teaching and non-teaching staff.
Notably, MBMC schools are gradually witnessing an upward trend in the number of admissions. The education department attributes the rise in numbers to steps taken towards improving existing facilities and launching tech-savvy initiatives like digital classrooms aimed at providing a quality learning experience to students and further narrowing the gap between civic-run schools and privately-operated education institutes in the twin-city.
