The Tamil Nadu Private Schools (Regulation) Rules, 2023 have been released by the state government for all schools that are self-financed, from playschool to higher secondary schools. Rules for application procedures for establishing self-financing private schools, renewal of recognition, regulation of admissions, the constitution of the school committee and safety of students are included among other rules.
KR Nandakumar, State Secretary, Tamil Nadu Nursery, Primary and Matriculation Higher Secondary School Association welcomed the move. He said, "Earlier, Madras Education Rules were used for regulating the private schools and there were separate rules for different boards, but everything has been merged into these new rules. The amount of land required to establish schools in various areas, including villages, town panchayats and municipalities has been reduced. However, the government could have invited suggestions from the administrations of the private schools to ensure that the rules are more comprehensive," stated a report by The New Indian Express.
The rules state that no pupil should be subjected to physical punishment, threats or mental harassment on any account to ensure the safety of the students. The conduct guidelines for the staff of private school staff and headmasters were also stated in the rules. The rules state that headmasters can leave the school premises only after ensuring that all students have left the premises. According to the rules, private schools managed by educational agencies, aside from minority schools, should form a school committee with the approval of the relevant District Educational Officer, and educational agencies managing more than one private school may do so with the prior permission of the relevant authority.
"The committee should comprise of headmasters of the schools, senior teachers, non-teaching staff and members of parent-teachers associations," the rules added, stated a report by The New Indian Express.
