KOCHI: In a suit, filed by Kasturba English Medium School, Manjummel, against the Muslim Education Society (MES) management, which is illegally controlling FACT Udyogamandal School, the Munsiff Court of North Paravoor issued an order of injunction against the latter. The injunction restrains MES from acting as a licensee of FACT Udyogamandal school for the academic year 2019-20.
The MES management also can’t make admissions or appointments to the school. It has been restrained from collecting security amounts, school and bus fees, selling textbooks, notebooks and uniforms of the said school for the said academic year. Meanwhile, the advocate commissioner inspected the premises of the school as ordered by the Munsiff court. The commissioner has been directed to submit a report before the court.
The stand-off between the MES and FACT over the running of Udyogamandal School had come to an end on May 20 with the state PSU allowing Kasturba English Medium School, Manjummel, to run the educational institution for a period of 15 years from May 1, 2019.
The uncertainty surfaced after MES refused to vacate the management control even after its 15-year contract to run the school ended on March 31, 2019. MES had been running the school from April 1, 2004, on a leave-and-licence basis.
According to FACT, they had called for a fresh tender once the licence period expired and Kasturba emerged the winner. The PSU had even notified MES about the ending of the contract in 2017 and issued three vacation notices. However, MES approached the court and obtained a stay, which got vacated on May 16.
FACT, the licensor, had also obtained an undertaking from Kasturba School to retain the students and the entire staff. According to a statement issued by the PSU, with a view to alleviate the concerns of the students, teaching and non-teaching staff of the school, provisions have been made in the licence agreement with Kasturba English Medium (Sr. Secondary) School to enable existing students and teaching staff to continue under the new management from the start of the academic year 2019-20. There are stipulations in the agreement “to ensure excellent quality of education is imparted to present and future students of the institution,” the statement said.
Meanwhile, MES management was not available for comment even after repeated efforts were made to contact them.