‘224 BMC schools have no principal for a decade’

While demands for upgrading primary civic schools to secondary have intensified, the Mumbai chapter of Maharashtra Rajya Shikshak Parishad (a teacher's association) has revealed that the already existing 224 BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) secondary schools have had no headmasters for more than a decade. The civic Education Department officials say the posts of headmaster and other teaching and non-teaching staff have not been sanctioned by the administration, leaving the position vacant for years. According to the civic body data and representatives of Maharashtra Rajya Shikshak Parishad (MRSP), all 190 (new) secondary schools started by the civic body in 2008 have no headmasters. Senior teachers in the school have been appointed as in- charge or acting headmasters. Meanwhile, of the 48 (old) civic-run secondary schools, 34 have no headmasters. "We want the civic body to first sanction the posts and appoint headmasters for the existing BMC secondary schools. We have written to the BMC commissioner on January 13, apprising him of the issue," said Shivnath Darade, Mumbai chapter of MRSP.