Ahmedabad: Following the TRP Game Zone fire in Rajkot, which tragically killed 27 people, including children, authorities have sealed approximately 600-700 schools across Gujarat due to issues with fire No Objection Certificates (NOCs) and Building Use Certificates (BUCs).

With summer vacations ending on June 13, schools are urging the state government for assistance, emphasizing that students will suffer if the reopening is delayed.

In response to inquiries from worried parents, the Swanirbhar Shala Sanchalak Mandal (self-financed schools association) met with Gujarat Education Minister Praful Panseriya on Friday. Panseriya promised to bring the matter to Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel soon.

Panseriya told The Indian Express, “We’ve learned that around 600-700 private schools have been sealed for lacking BUCs and fire NOCs. Civic bodies are following Gujarat High Court guidelines. Some schools in Surat, now under city limits post-delimitation, face issues submitting a BUC.”

He expressed hope that the High Court would provide a solution considering the problems faced by students and parents, adding, “We will follow court instructions.”

Panseriya also noted that the school representatives acknowledged the importance of proper fire safety measures and claimed that most sealed schools had such clearances, with the primary issue being BUCs.

The Rajkot fire on May 25 prompted statewide action, resulting in the sealing of numerous commercial buildings, hospitals, and educational institutions lacking fire NOCs and BUCs. This followed a Gujarat High Court reprimand after the game zone was found operating without a fire clearance.

Sealed buildings include around 74 housing about 200 schools in Surat, with six in Ahmedabad and four in Gandhinagar. Surat District Education Officer Bhagirath Parmar highlighted that over 74 buildings host multiple schools, causing widespread disruption.

On Friday, the school association submitted a memorandum to Surat Municipal Commissioner Shalini Agrawal, Mayor Daxesh Mawani, and Education Minister Panseriya, requesting the reopening of schools with valid NOCs. They expressed dissatisfaction with what they described as unnecessary harassment during the sealing process, noting that many schools, now within city limits, are decades old and were initially set up in villages.

The memorandum stressed that the sealing affects essential procedures for students, such as distributing marksheets and school leaving certificates, impacting lakhs of students.

An affidavit by Kaizad Dastoor, in-charge chief fire officer of Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation, noted that as of June 1, 62 schools had valid fire NOCs, while four did not. Among the four, Ba Shri Vasant Kunvarba Kanya Vidhyalay and Delhi Public School in Ambapur were sealed for operating without a valid fire NOC. Notices were issued to two other schools to renew their fire safety certificates.

MB Mistry, additional chief fire officer of Ahmedabad Fire Emergency Services, stated that six schools in Ahmedabad were sealed over fire clearance issues and must apply for new or renewed fire NOCs before reopening.

Ahmedabad city district education officer (DEO) Rohit Chaudhari indicated that the sealed schools have applied for fire NOCs and must comply by July 15. Additionally, surprise audits found deficiencies in fire safety measures at Udgam School and Navkar School, which were instructed to rectify the issues within a week.

The self-financed school association suggested considering the “structural stability certificate” as an alternative to BUC and emphasized the urgency of reopening schools by June 13 to address parental concerns.