Government plans law to regulate private preschools; registration to be mandatory

Maharashtra Minister Dada Bhuse. File pic

The Maharashtra government plans to introduce a law to regulate private preschools in the state. The law will ensure registrations are mandatory for institutions to meet quality standards, School Education Minister Dada Bhuse said on Friday.

As reported by news agency PTI, Bhuse informed the state assembly that the government issued a circular on April 24, 2025, making it compulsory for private institutions providing pre-primary education to register on the "Preschool Registration Portal", and 12,733 schools have registered themselves so far.

The initiative by the Maharashtra government aims to ensure that children in the three-to-six-year age group receive safe and quality early childhood education and that parents have access to consolidated information about such institutions at the state and district levels, he said during the Question Hour.

The Minister said that the portal requires institutions to provide basic details such as location, management, number of classrooms, and student strength, along with information about infrastructure facilities, including school buildings, playgrounds, toilets, drinking water and CCTV, as well as teachers and staff, reported PTI.

Around 12,700 private pre-primary education centres are registered across Maharashtra.

He further informed the House that around 12,733 private pre-primary education centres in the state have registered on the portal so far, and the government has appealed to other institutions to complete their registration, as per PTI.

He further said that the government also proposes a law to regulate private preschools, with a focus on mandatory registration, regulation and quality assurance.

Under the proposed framework, a competent authority will be appointed to register and regulate such institutions, and all centres will have to register through the online portal with renewal every three years, he said.

The minister further said, "The government is considering guidelines, including a student-teacher ratio of 20:1, a child-centric curriculum, availability of toys and learning materials, and child-friendly infrastructure."

Schools cannot conduct oral entrance tests for admission

He further stated that schools can't conduct written or oral entrance tests for admission at the pre-primary level and that only a holistic assessment of a child's development would be permitted. The proposal by the Minister has received inputs from the Women and Child Development Department and has been forwarded to the Law and Judiciary Department for legal vetting, he said.

He further added that the government will attempt to bring the law into effect before the upcoming academic year.

(With inputs from PTI)