Oshiwara

English-medium municipal school

international school

Adarsh Nagar

Mayor Vishwanath Mahadeshwar

Lokhandwala Citizens’ Association

Parents staged a protest on Monday nearly a fortnight after the school, which operates from the ground floor of an international school, was shut

Corporator Rajul Patel says she should have been informed about a school opening in her constituency; claims reopening only after Mayor inaugurates it.Over 230 students inare at the mercy of a local Sena corporator who used her influence to shut their school down just two days after it opened last month, all because she was miffed over not being “officially informed” about the event.The, fashioned out of seven rooms on the ground floor of a private trust-runinin Oshiwara and with classes till Std VII, was inaugurated on June 15. Two days later began parents’ nightmare.Not only have the police allegedly thrown up their hands in the matter but the corporator, Rajul Patel, has also dug in her heels.She is adamant that she will let the school reopen only after it is inaugurated by(who also hails from the Sena) on July 5.Without even a smidgen of guilt, Patel admitted to Mumbai Mirror that she had indeed got the school shut. “This is my fourth term [as corporator] in office. I should’ve been informed about the school’s opening, but they (school authorities) didn’t feel the need to do so,” she said.She quickly followed it up with a concern about cramped spaces for students.“How can classes till Std VII be run from seven rooms? The school will be reopened only after it is inaugurated at the hands of our Sena mayor on July 5.”She clarified that she isn’t opposed to the BMC school but is rather peeved over being slighted.Worried that their children’s lives are caught in a nasty power play, many parents staged a protest outside Oshiwara police station on Monday.Nitin Babar, whose 5-year-old daughter, Vaishnavi, is a senior kindergartener, said the international school was built on a BMC plot and as per the terms of agreement, 15 per cent of the premises belongs to the civic body. “Accordingly, the international school allotted seven rooms on the ground floor for a municipal school.”Babar, who was among the protesters, said students on the rolls hail from families that live below the poverty line.“We cannot afford the fees of private schools. It’s too late now to seek admission in other schools. Our children’s academic year will go to waste. We just want the school to reopen quickly.”Rama Kote, whose son, Ayush, is a Std I student, said all parents are dailywage earners who had to forgo a day’s work to fight for their children’s rights. “The police said they have no jurisdiction over the issue. My son used to study in another school, but we shifted here because we were told that everything — stationery, uniform and books — would be free. We are worried our children will lose a year.”Ashoke Pandit, chairman of Oshiwara, which had fought in court the allotment of the land to the private trust, insisted that children should not be made collateral damage to “ego issues”.“It was citizen-driven initiative that saved the land. We wanted children from slums to get an education. There was no political leader who took an interest in constructing a school there. Now, Patel has come out of nowhere and is claiming authority over it.”A member from the BMC’s education committee confirmed that the authorities are kowtowing to Patel’s demand. “The mayor and the education committee chairman plan to inaugurate it officially.”She said the corporator had objected to constructing the school as she wanted to open a skill development centre for women. But Patel asserted that she had opposed handing over the plot to open an international school in 2010.“I had told the education department then not to issue a no-objection certificate as the plot belongs to the BMC.”