THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: At a casual glance, any visitor to Jawahar English Medium School here may mistake the institution to be just another house in the locality save for the two big boards which proudly proclaim that it is a school which is affiliated to the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS).
What is surprising is that the two-storeyed building in which the school functioned had a kennel with a dog inside, with children aged four to 11 were studying on the same premises.
With very little open space excluding the built-up area, it was quite evident that the institution also lacked a proper playground for its 125-odd students on the rolls. The students were mostly from the neighbourhood and many belonged to economically weak families.
‘Accredited Study Centre of National Institute of Open Schooling’ - reads the huge board near the gate. It claimed that the institution offered Open Basic Education (OBE) - which is primarily a Central Government programme to provide elementary education at three levels for school dropouts and neo-literates, through accredited agencies. The school also claims to have recognition from the State Government via order GO(RT) 5182/08/GEdn of 2008. However, the said order pertains only to recognition for certificates issued by NIOS for the OBE programmes and not recognition to the institution as such.
‘Report Today’
“The Deputy Director of Education has inspected the school and has collected all the details. A detailed report is expected to be out on Tuesday. On the basis of the report, we will consider further action,” Additional Director of Public Instruction L Rajan told ‘Express’.
“On detailed examination, if it is found that the school does not have the recognition from the government or has not applied for recognition, the institution will immediately be closed down and parents will be asked to send their children to nearby schools,” he said.
SHRC Plans Action
Kerala State Human Rights Commission chairperson Justice J B Koshy said that the commission will take action against the school authorities after studying the inquiry report of the Directorate of Public Instruction.
Call for Strict Action
Former Education Minister M A Baby asked the government to take strict action against unrecognised schools. “An important provision of the Right to Education Act is that unrecognised schools should not be allowed to function in the state,’’ he said.
HM Suspended for Making kids Clean Toilets
Alappuzha: The Deputy Director of Education suspended the headmistress of Government UP School, Thambakachuvadu here on Monday, in the wake of the brutal punishment she meted out to six children who failed to wear their uniforms. Headmistress Helan made the students clean toilets as a punishment for not wearing the uniforms last Friday. Following this, the parents of the students lodged a complaint with Mannacherry police station. In the face of controversy, the deputy director asked Cherthala Assistant Educational Officer to conduct an inquiry into the incident. Based on the report of Assistant Educational Officer, the DD has suspended the headmistress. The incident is being investigated.