Former chairperson of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) Education Board, Sangeeta Tiwari, has raised concerns over the upkeep and decline in standards at civic body-run schools. She submitted a detailed letter to PMC Commissioner Naval Kishore Ram, highlighting serious shortcomings in the education system and basic facilities provided to underprivileged students.

Tiwari pointed out that while a significant portion of the municipal budget is allocated to education, students, particularly those from slum areas and newly merged villages, are being deprived of quality education, proper infrastructure, and essential services. She alleged that several officials are misrepresenting facts on paper, hiding the ground reality.

Speaking to The Free Press Journal, Tiwari said, “I urge the Commissioner to conduct a special meeting with concerned officials and take strict action to ensure students get their rightful access to quality education and safe learning environments. The PMC-run schools lack basic infrastructure, and there is scope for a lot of improvements.”

Deepali Sardeshmukh, a social activist, added, “The PMC-run schools are not abiding by the rules. The strength of these schools has gone down, and parents are preferring private schools due to the lack of quality education. Also, the teachers are not well-versed in English, so students are shifting to private English medium schools. The quality of water and infrastructure is questionable. Irregularity is also a common problem in the schools and a possible reason for increased dropout rates.”

Key demands highlighted in the letter:

• No Anganwadis (preschools) have been started in the newly merged villages, despite repeated demands from parents.

• Lack of cleanliness staff and absence of hygiene tenders in these areas pose health risks for students.

• No security personnel have been deployed in several schools, endangering student safety.

• Peons and support staff have not been appointed in many newly merged schools.

• Severe shortage of teachers, with some schools operating with less than 50% of the required teaching staff.

• Mismatch between student strength and teacher deployment, leading to imbalanced education delivery.

• Teachers are drawing salaries without proper appointments, and no timely transfers are made based on actual needs.

• Special schools for differently-abled students lack appointed teachers despite sanctioned posts.

• No physical education instructors in PMC-run sports schools, affecting students' access to sports like shooting, cricket, hockey, wrestling, and kabaddi.

• Around 275 teaching posts remain vacant in Marathi and English medium schools. Tiwari demanded temporary contractual appointments until permanent teachers are appointed via the Pavitra Portal.

• Salary discrepancies for daily-wage staff and pending promotions for senior teachers and principals.

• No structural audits or repairs of ageing school buildings, increasing risk to students.

• Failure to implement RTE-prescribed teaching hours across schools.

• Substandard mid-day meals and no centralised kitchen in newly merged schools.

• Retiring staff are not receiving timely pension clearances or service book updates.

Meanwhile, The Free Press Journal did not receive a response from Vijay Kumar Thorat, Deputy Commissioner, PMC Education Department, despite multiple calls.