He will also communicate with the BMC’s education department to know whether additional permission is required by school to run it.
Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Azmi has taken over controversial televangelist Zakir Naik’s Islamic International School (IIS) located in Mazgaon. Azmi’s NGO Niyaz Minority Education and Welfare Trust will run the school. Naik’s school had run into trouble after Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had declared it illegal. The civic body had issued warning to parents to refrain from admitting their wards in the school. The school has around 135 students and runs classes from nursery to class X.
Azmi nonetheless claimed that the school was not illegal. He said, “I have not done anything illegal to invite the wrath of the education department. The premises have been taken on rent by me. There is some change in the schools name and management and besides that everything is functioning like earlier with minor changes. We have changed the schools name to Avicenna and introduced some minor changes in its syllabus.”
“I also have received a letter from education department that mentions that government doesn’t have any objection if other trust runs the school. I am worried about the fate of 135 students of the school whose future will look bleak if the school shuts down,” said Azmi.
“I would also communicate with the BMC’s education department to know whether additional permission is required by school to run it,” he added.
Deputy Director of School Education, Mumbai, B B Chavan had issued a circular and warned parents to refrain from admitting their wards in the school. “As per Clause 18 of the Right to Education Act 2009, no school can function unless it receives a No objection certificate (NOC) from the state government or the local administration. The school has been functioning sans recognition of the school education department,” said Chavan.
The Maharashtra government had informed parents of students that the school would either be shut down or its operations would be handed over to a new management in December 2016. Later Azmi intervened in this matter and urged the government against shutting down the school or else it may affect the future of students studying there.”
In November 2016, the Union Home Ministry had banned the Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) for five years under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for its alleged involvement in terror acts.
