CHENNAI: THE Madras High Court lambasted the school education authorities for allowing schools, for which renewal of approval has been denied, for years to function affecting the future of outgoing students.
This only exhibited the lethargic and negligent attitude of educational officers, observed Justice N Kirubakaran, while passing interim orders on a writ petition from Appichi Vidya Mandir Nursery and Primary school, whose recognition was not renewed from December, 2009 but was allowed to function till now.
The educational authorities should have passed an order prohibiting the school from being run. However, nothing has been done for the past six years. If the students go out of that school, the certificate would have no validity. “This court feels that it is only a tip of the iceberg and many more schools are being run like this.
The responsibility of educational authorities are not discharged with care,” the judge observed.
Further, as per the Right of Children for Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, no school could be established without obtaining certificate of recognition. If educational authorities had inspected all, this situation would not have arisen, the judge said and suo-motu impleaded the Shool Education Secretary as a party-respondent in the writ petition and issued a set of 12 queries in this regard.
They included: How many schools are functioning in State and how many of them were without approval and strength of students. The queries are to be answered by August 30.