Private school operators have launched an agitation against the Saptari District Education Office, which issued a directive to close schools owing to their lack of legitimacy. The DEO had recently issued the notice to pull down the shutters of 152 private and boarding schools in the district, though the institutions had been operating for years. Students and guardians have been left in a lurch with the unexpected decree. School operators are puzzled by the authority’s decision only one month after the beginning of the new session. “Private schools have frequented the DEO every year seeking registration and up-gradation of class, but the office never forwarded their documents. Rather, it issued the closure notice without proper monitoring,” said Nabin Kumar Mishra, School Association Coordinator. He said the government had taken the decision without monitoring the eligibility of schools. Mishra demanded that schools, which meet the criteria of Education Act 1971 or 1972, be granted permission to operate. Representatives of the association handed over a Memorandum demanding permission to run schools that meet the necessary legal process to CDO Birendra Kumar Yadav, Local Education Committee Chairman, and Local Development Officer as well as District Education Officer. If the schools in the list are closed, more than 50,000 students will be adversely affected, said Mishra.