BENGALURU: Hundreds of parents protested in front of the Government V.K. Obaidullah School at Shivajinagar, which had been adopted by the IMA Group of Companies, and later in front of MLA Roshan Baig’s residence on Wednesday morning, demanding the restoration of the old staff of the school.
The school which was closed for two days after the IMA Jewels scam broke out re-opened on Friday with the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) deploying 20 government teachers to conduct classes.
Many parents arrived at the school and threatened to shift their children to other schools, complaining about the quality of education being given by the new teachers.
“It was an English medium school. We don’t know if these teachers even know English. We want the old teachers back,” said a parent.
Another parent said Baig had promised to look into the matter and sought three days time.
“We can’t leave our kids in the lurch. We want the old staff back at any cost,” said a parent Razia Sultana.
"Strict rules and regulations were followed earlier. Now there's no watchman to ensure students don't get out of the school compound," added another parent.
"Baig has promised to revert to the IMA quality of education. Government teachers will be retained while the IMA teachers are assured of appointments in other schools," said a member of a delegation which met the MLA.
While the government had 13 teachers on its payroll, 92 teaching and non-teaching staff were appointed by the IMA, which paid their salaries.
After news of the scam broke and it was discovered that the school was suffering from a shortage of funds, the government stepped in to arrange for new teachers. The school has about 1600 students in all.