NGO eyes slum children to up BMC schools’ student base

A city-based NGO has decided to spread awareness of BMC schools in an effort to increase their student base.

Action for Good Governance and Action in India (AGNI) plans to reach out to city slums from next month, appealing to residents to send their children to civic schools.

“The BMC has rented out the premises of several of its school buildings to private players under the pretext of poor student attendance. To ensure this doesn’t happen with the other civic school premises, we want parents to send their children to municipal schools,” said Rajkumar Sharma, a member of AGNI.

The Chembur-based activist said the outfit would spread word about the benefits involved, such as a blanket assurance for kids, provision of up to Rs1.5 lakh for their medical treatment, etc.

“The corporation pays Rs1 to every girl student for each day’s attendance. We will inform people about this,” Sharma said.

Even as the NGO tries to increase student attendance at these schools, it will simultaneously push for an improvement in the quality of education imparted therein.

Suspecting that the quality of education at civic schools was deliberately kept substandard, resulting in lower student attendance, Sharma said the NGO would work towards bettering the situation.