More than 200 unaided schools in Bangalore are “unauthorised”. The Department of Public Instruction (DPI) has cautioned parents against admitting their children in these schools, which are running without permission.
A month-old exercise undertaken by Block Education Officers (BEOs) has identified 211 unaided schools running without registration so far, including schools affiliated to the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (ICSE) and Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE).
“We have received complaints that some of these schools have started classes by putting up boards without due permission. I have asked BEOs to identify such schools for the benefit of parents,” said S R Umashankar, commissioner for public instruction.
“Besides these, there are schools that have sought permission for the state syllabus, but are running ICSE or CBSE instead. We will book criminal cases against them,” he stated.
Umashankar cautioned parents not to admit their children to these schools. “If children are already admitted, they will be relocated to nearby authorised schools,’’ he said. “While state board schools require registration, other board schools need to get a no-objection certificate from us,” he informed.
Of the 211 unauthorised schools listed so far, 123 are in Bangalore North. “These schools have started classes without permission,” M Gopal Krishna, BEO, Bangalore North Range 1.
“Schools have not bothered to check the status of their applications before starting classes,” said M Gopal Krishna, Block Education Officer (BEO), Bangalore North Range 1.
Bangalore North range 1 has 15 schools, which have been listed as unauthorised, including four ICSE and CBSE schools.
Bangalore Rural Deputy Director for Public Instruction H V Venkateshappa has filed criminal charges against four of the 11 schools that were running without registration.
What does the Act say?
Section 30 of the Karnataka Education Act, 1983, makes it mandatory for private educational institutions to be registered under the Act before commencing operations.
“No person or local authority shall establish or as the case may be, run or maintain an educational institution requiring registration under this section, unless such institution is so registered,” the Act says.
Once registered, schools have to be recognised by a competent authority, which in this case is the Department of Public Instruction.