Education
Mumbai News: Sion School Under Probe For Unauthorised Building, Alleges ‘Selective Scrutiny’, Cites Heritage Structures

Mumbai: Lady of Good Counsel School in Sion has written to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, alleging ‘selective scrutiny’ after being flagged for operating in an unauthorised building.
The school contends that numerous British-era structures, including prominent institutions such as the Bombay High Court and the BMC headquarters, do not possess Occupation Certificates (OC) simply because the requirement did not exist at the time of their construction.
In its letter, the school has questioned why similar scrutiny is not applied to other heritage buildings across the city. “If the state is genuinely concerned about public safety and compliance, it should adopt a uniform approach rather than targeting individual institutions arbitrarily,” the letter states, calling for consistency in the enforcement of regulations.
Advocate Godfrey Pimenta, who submitted the letter on behalf of the school, emphasised that such long-standing educational institutions should be permitted to operate as long as they adhere to all necessary safety guidelines.
He pointed out that the school undergoes a structural audit every four years and submits a ‘Structural Stability Certificate’ to the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM). Additionally, the school also provides a fire safety certificate to demonstrate its compliance with safety standards.
As per Section 353B of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, any building that has completed 30 years of existence is mandated to undergo a structural audit to assess its stability and safety. These audits are a crucial part of ensuring that older buildings remain fit for occupation and do not pose a risk to students and staff.
Meanwhile, Devidas Mahajan, Education Inspector (South), confirmed that an investigation into the matter is currently underway. “At this stage, no conclusive decision has been reached. We will carefully consider the school’s perspective before making any determinations,” he stated.
The Maharashtra state education department had recently ordered an inquiry after receiving a complaint regarding the school’s operation in an unauthorised building. The department has since directed the education section of the MCGM to thoroughly examine the matter and submit a detailed report before any further action is taken.
Crime
Four arrested for duping CET aspirants by promising them success

Mumbai: Mumbai Crime Branch has claimed to have arrested four fraudsters for duping aspirants by promising to increase success rate and ratio in MBA, MHCET and other government exams. Crime Branch has busted a gang which stole the data of candidates registered and enrolled in State CET Cell Mumbai MBA, MHCT exams and contacted a total of 72 candidates from Maharashtra through mobile phones, luring them to get admission in prestigious colleges and demanding Rs 15 to 20 lakh.
Crime Branch Unit 5 has taken action in this case, while the case was registered at Azad Maidan Police Station in Mumbai. The accused involved in this case used to make calls and audio and video calls through WhatsApp to the affected candidates of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Bihar, Rajasthan and other states and extorted lakhs of rupees from them by luring them to increase percentage in MBA, MHCT exams. Police have claimed to have arrested 4 accused from New Delhi using modern technology in this case. More arrests are expected in this case, as important action has been taken by wearing masks.
DCP Datta Nalawade said that complaints were being received from various districts of Maharashtra that there was manipulation in government examinations and the percentage of admission in prestigious colleges was being increased by hacking the website. The Crime Branch took action and arrested four accused. These accused told that if any center including Beed, Jalna and Parbhani is selected in the state of Maharashtra, then they will play an important role in making it successful. This action was taken on the instructions of Mumbai Police Commissioner Vivek Phansalkar.
Education
CBSE pattern in Maha govt schools from academic year 2025-26: Education Minister Bhuse

Mumbai, March 20: Maharashtra Education Minister Dadaji Bhuse announced on Thursday that the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) pattern will be implemented in government schools across the state from the academic year 2025-26.
Textbooks under CBSE will be made available in Marathi by April 1.
The Education Department has issued instructions to the schools governed by the state education boards to implement the CBSE curriculum, the Minister told the Legislative Council.
The minister replied to the question raised by the BJP legislator Prasad Lad. He wanted to know whether the Steering Committee has approved the curriculum plan of the CBSE especially when the implementation of the National Education Policy for schools from class 3 to 12 is underway in the state.
“CBSE pattern will be implemented from the academic year 2025-2026 and the government has taken this decision with an aim of improving the quality of students in the state,” said the minister.
His announcement comes days after the Steering Committee had approved the State Curriculum Framework in relation to the school education department.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had reviewed the work of all the departments including the school education department for the next 100 days.
Accordingly, he had expressed confidence in the meeting of the School Education Department that Maharashtra would once again come to the forefront of school education.
The Chief Minister directed that the Education Department should take steps for quality education.
He has also directed the School Education Department about the adoption of the CBSE pattern in the state government schools by making necessary changes.
Education
Assembly member Abu Asim Azmi demands filling of the post of Minister of Minority Affairs, requests special attention to the level of education

Mumbai: Maharashtra Samajwadi Party leader and MLA Abu Asim has demanded grants to schools, assistance to minority institutions and introduction of educational scholarships. Minorities, especially Muslims, are facing problems in the state due to pending issues of the minority community in the state. Assembly member Abu Asim Azmi has sent a letter to the Minister of Minority Affairs demanding immediate attention to the issues and pending issues of Muslims and also requested to resolve the issues.
In the letter, Azmi said that the free matriculation scholarship given to minority students in the state has been stopped and the dropout rate of students leaving Turkish education schools is around 50 percent and there is a fear that the dropout rate will increase due to the discontinuation of the scholarship. Therefore, the Justice Department should announce Fatima Sheikh Scholarship for students from class 1 to 10. In addition, Rs 5,000 is provided for vocational courses as no government subsidy is provided for courses like microbiology. The education grant for minority students will be increased from Rs 35,000 to Rs 40,000. There is also a need to consider what steps the government should take to ensure this and start scholarships.
The government’s decision to provide a grant of Rs 10 lakh for infrastructure facilities to minority schools was implemented during the model code of conduct for the assembly elections, but no proposal has been sought in this regard yet. The proposal for the year 2023-24 under the grant scheme for infrastructure facilities to minority schools is pending due to the model code of conduct for the Lok Sabha elections and the grant has not been distributed to the schools yet. Steps should also be taken to distribute the grant to eligible schools of minority communities.
The above vacancies are for officers and employees in the Maulana Azad Economic Development Corporation and the Ministry of Minority Development, established for the betterment of the minority community. Only 20% of the grants sanctioned for the betterment of the minority community have been spent so far and the above mentioned vacant posts should be filled up by making appointments as early as possible.
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