BENGALURU: The Department of School Education and Literacy (DSEL) on Thursday released a list of over 17,000 private schools in Karnataka that have received its authorisation. However, parents are left anxious as there was no notification on how many schools did not get the department’s nod and what happens to students who are already enrolled in them.
The list uploaded on the DSEL’s website offers names of schools district-wise under which one must select the block and look through an array of listed names to see if their child’s school is authorised and verify the duration for which permission has been granted. The list also mentions the boards and classes that the school can offer.
In Bengaluru alone, over 3,064 schools have received the stamp of approval with the maximum schools in Bengaluru South (1,312) followed by North (1,302) and Rural (449). When TNIE reached out to department officials to get an accurate number on how many schools were rejected, they did not have a consolidated number yet.
Rakesh Kumar Singh, Principal Secretary, DSEL said, “We are not giving the unauthorised list. Instead we are going for a positive construction so that parents can know which schools are authorised. It will be applicable from this academic year. We want to alert parents and make sure they know that action might be taken soon. The expectation is that admissions will start dwindling in unauthorised schools.”
He added that childrens’ interests will be the focus and on a case-to-case basis decisions will be taken for those who have secured admission in schools not on the list. The academic year is set to begin on May 28.
Meanwhile, Shashi Kumar D, General Secretary, Associated Managements of Primary and Secondary Schools in Karnataka (KAMS), raised questions on the intent of the department on releasing only the list of authorised schools and said, “This is being done to protect the interest of some school owners. This is a failure of the administration.”
NGO WANTS HELPLINE FOR PARENTS
NGO Child Rights Trust (CRT) suggested that the government should launch a helpline for parents and help them check if a school is authorised or not. Nagasimha Rao, Director, CRT, said, “Many parents in rural areas will not be able to access the website and check taluk-wise data. Launching a helpline for the month of June will be beneficial.” He added that several parents reached out to him for direction as the school still claims they have authorisation. “Despite the list, schools are reassuring parents that they will receive the papers and that parents should not change their child’s school,” he said.