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Education Ministry to monitor private schools

Sep 05, 2009 News

Private schools countrywide will be closely scrutinised by the Ministry of Education as part of its efforts to ensure that they offer the right conditions needed for the proper delivery of education.
Senior Minister of Education, Shaik Baksh, made this disclosure on Wednesday during a press conference where he highlighted that as early as Sunday (tomorrow) advertisements could be placed in the media requesting that all private schools, including nursery, primary and secondary, register with the Ministry.
According to Baksh, it has come to the attention of the Ministry that there is a large number of private schools that are not registered, thus, the need to enforce the measures to ensure that they comply with the relevant rules and regulations.
“Within the Education Act Number 9 of 1976, I have powers to deal with these matters and I will invoke those powers if the schools do not come on board and register,” Baksh emphasised.
Post-secondary institutions which fall under the purview of the National Accreditation Council will also be required to become registered, the Minister added.
And, according to him, the Ministry will follow-up its registration request with visits to the various schools under scrutiny, a process which he admitted will take some time.
However, the Minister did note that the new Education Act which should be tabled in parliament before the end of the year will deal with the situation in a more systematic way. “This Act will be coming into place… I am hoping by early next year, as I am hoping to table it in parliament by the end of the year.”
A final draft of the new Act has been completed and it has been sent to the Attorney General’s Chambers for finalisation. It will soon be taken to Cabinet and thence to Parliament, according to Minister Baksh.
He had disclosed that the need to modernise the Act is rooted in the fact that the current legislation being utilised is over 50 years old.
Minister Baksh pointed out that through the Act, the Ministry will be able to regulate private schools and establish school boards as a legal entity.
He explained that the Act will allow for the appointment of boards and outline their roles and responsibilities.
At the moment there are about 32 public institutions including technical institutes that are governed by boards. Minister Baksh has, however, acknowledged that there are a few of these institutions in which conflicts have arisen due to the fact that they are not acquainted with their roles and responsibilities.
He listed about three schools where there have been conflicts in terms of the definition and the delineation of their functions.
However, with the implementation of the Act and the supporting regulations, Minister Baksh said that the roles and responsibilities of boards and the management of private schools will be clearly outlined in a formal way.
Additionally, he related that through the new Act all private schools will be required to follow the national curriculum.

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