NASHIK: The education committee of the municipal corporation on Wednesday set the ball rolling to upgrade a few civic schools. Under this plan, the classes of the selected schools would be extended up to Std X.Of the 90 schools that are managed by the civic body, 77 have classes from Std I to VIII. The committee’s plan is to select some schools from these 77 and upgrade them.During a meeting on Wednesday, panel chairperson Sarita Sonawane directed the principals of civic schools to submit an academic report about their institutes on issues like infrastructure , and strength of students. The panel directed the NMC education officer Uday Deore to consider upgradation of schools on priority basis.“One of the main issues that came up for discussion was how to not only retain the existing students but also increase the number of students in NMC schools. Some principals mooted the proposal for upgrading some schools up to Std X. We would act on it,” Sonawane said.She said the education committee has also stressed the need for school managements to improve the quality of teaching so that students attend schools regularly and desist from migrating to private schools.She said some principals demanded that the NMC schools introduce pre-primary sections. A decision on it would be taken later. “These measures will maintain students at the NMC schools. If we start pre-primary schools, students will join NMC schools right from the start and will continue with our schools till Class X.”Sonawane said a centralized kitchen system, Akshay Patra, will be introduced soon for all NMC schools. “The head masters were positive about it. The centralized kitchen will ensure quality of the mid-day meal.”Education officer Uday Deore said the issue of changes in school timing was raised by many head masters but it’s not easy to change the in timings.“Uniformity in timings must be maintained, which is very difficult in the present scenario. We must consult teachers as well before coming to any conclusion on this issue,” he said, adding that a separate meeting of NMC teachers will be called soon to discuss their issues.“The committee members gave positive solutions on the issues like infrastructure, timings, and mid-day meal. Issues related to salaries and seniority list of principals were also raised but no concrete decisions were taken on these issues,” said Bharat Gaikwad, principal of a school in Satpur.The education committee members decided to visit the schools on regular basis and interact with teachers during the next two months. Similar meetings with head masters and senior teachers will be conducted more often, told the members.

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