Only 80 of 455 schools send final consent for MIEB

MIEB OFFICIAL SAID THAT THE BOARD IS STILL OPEN TO NEW APPLICATIONS AND PRIVATELY-AIDED, SELF-FINANCED, CIVIC AND ZILLA PARISHAD SCHOOLS CAN BECOME A PART OF IT

MUMBAI: The state’s upcoming international board, which had earlier received applications for affiliation from 455 schools, have received the final consent letters from only 80 schools after it declared its fees last month.

The Maharashtra International Education Board (MIEB), which is set to be functional from the current academic year, had intended to give out affiliation to 100 Marathi schools from across the state.

Many schools that had applied, however, did not send a final consent after the board announced its fees under various heads like affiliation, accreditation and teacher training.

“We have received consent letters from 80 schools so far. The governing board will scan all these applications and make the final selection of schools. We are focussing on the quality of schools rather than the number,” said Francis Joseph, head, development and strategy, MIEB.

Joseph said that the board is still open to new applications. Privately-aided, self-financed, civic and zilla parishad schools can also become a part of the board. While zilla parishad schools do not have to pay for affiliation, the other three categories have to pay ₹20,000 to ₹50,000 for it.

A total of 72 schools under the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) are yet to send a final consent after its education committee raised concerns about the board.

Meanwhile, at a meeting of the BMC’S education committee held on Thursday, members continued to oppose the participation of civic schools in the international board even after the civic body has allotted ₹2.60 crore for the same.

“It will not be right to spend so much on affiliating with a board whose syllabus is yet not shared with us. Instead, BMC can try to get affiliation of an established board like Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on a pilot basis,” said Sainath Durge, member of the education committee, BMC.

The board is, however, now scanning all the applications and will release a list of selected schools soon, Joseph said.