The education department of the BMC has decided to shut five of its Gujarati medium schools in the Ghatkopar area, and accommodate all the students in a Vikhroli civic school. The move has not gone down well with the several families residing in the Gujarati dominated area.

Ghatkopar has a significant Gujarati population, which has only grown over the years. It is also BJP MLA Prakash Mehta's bastion. Local Congress corporator Pravin Chheda has strongly opposed the move, on behalf of the parents. Chheda said even though most parents want their children to get educated in English-medium schools, a significant number also want their children to get educated in their mother tongue.

Chheda said that the distance between Ghatkopar and the BMC school in Tagore Nagar is more than 10 km. "The students will either travel by autorickshaw or bus. Since these kids belong to poor families, it won't be feasible for them to travel to Vikhroli every day. As a result, they may end up quitting their education."

Currently, the five BMC Gujarati schools in the N-ward (covering Ghatkopar) include: Rajawadi pre-primary, Barvenagar (Bhatwadi) primary, Dhanji Devshi, Maneklal Mehta pre-primary and Vikhroli Parksite pre-primary schools.

In a letter to municipal commissioner Sitaram Kunte, Chheda stated: "While merging the five schools in Ghatkopar, an arrangement for studies should be made in any one of the five schools for the Gujarati-medium students in such a way that Ghatkopar based students will be able to get their education in Ghatkopar itself."

While civic education officer Shambhavi Jogi was not available for comments, insiders from the education department revealed that the decision was taken because of a dwindling attendance in the schools, due to a growing preference for English-medium schools.