Mandatory RequireMENT To Start A School In India

As a country develops, it needs more and more schools to educate its younger generation. Schools play a vital role in shaping up the young generation’s aspirations and interests.

To make sure schools provide good quality education and an overall character development to the students, governments make rules and regulations that the schools need to abide by. The schools that abide by the rules and regulations are given the required formalities to operate as a school.

Let us learn about the that are mandatory to start a school in India –

Non-profit entity registration

In India, only non-profit entities can operate a school. Therefore, to start a school a registration as a non-profit entity is mandatory. An entity can register as a non-profit by one of the following means:

• Register as a society under the Societies Act of 1860
• Form a trust under Public Trusts Act (each state has their own trusts law
• Form a non-profit company under section 25 of Companies Act

Essentiality certificate

An essentiality certificate is provided by the Department of Education (DoE) of the particular state in which the school is intended to be started. The department checks the area and ascertains whether there is demand for a school in that particular zone or not. Moreover, it also checks the financial status of the entity that intends to start the school and the people behind it. After being making sure the requirements are fulfilled, the department may provide a license.

Sponsorship letter

After making sure the demand for a school exists, the department of education issues a sponsorship letter which is forwarded to one of the land owning agencies of the government such as municipal corporation or land development authority. This makes sure the land on which the school is to be constructed is sold at a subsidized rate. The school construction must be completed within 3 years of the land being provided.

Building fitness certificate:

An application is submitted to the local municipal body which checks the school building for proper fire safety, ventilation, construction quality, etc. and grants a fitness certificate.

Health Certificate

The local municipal body checks the hygiene level, quality of food provided, sanitation facilities and grants a health certificate.

Water quality testing

The local government water authority checks the water storage facilities of the school, water treatment facility, if any, quality of the water that the students will drink.

Land owner permission

In case of rented property, a no-objection certificate from the land owner stating that the land is permitted to be used for a school is need to be present.

No loan certificate

The bank which manages the schools account issues a certificate stating that the school has not taken any loan against the fixed deposit that it is required to maintain with the bank.

Governing body

The school entity is required to form a governing body and declare the details of all its members. It is required to appoint a chairperson, a president and a secretary. The board also has to form a scheme management and get it approved by the department of education detailing the guidelines on how the school should be managed the powers of the governing body.

Recognition Certificate

The local municipal corporation after making sure the school has proper infrastructure and amenities issues a recognition certificate. This marks the start of the legal existence of the school. Until Class 5th, the recognition of the municipal corporation is sufficient. For higher classes, the department of education provides the approval.

Affiliation certificate

For classes 6th or higher, affiliation with the department of education (DOE) of the state in which the school is situated is required. This approval gets the school registered with the local state board.

For registration with one of the national boards such as Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) or Council for the Indian School Certificate Examination (CISCE), a separate application has to be made to the respective board and their guidelines on curriculum, text books, teachers’ salary, student strength, etc. needs to be followed.

Conclusion
Under special circumstances, more approvals may need to be taken and hence, it is important to hire professionals to do the approval and licensing procedure.