Primary school set up illegally

Preventing what could have been a disaster for hundreds of students, the block education officer (BEO), Anekal, has served a notice on a reputed private educational institution for setting up a primary school illegally.

In a notice dated May 15, a copy of which is with Deccan Herald, BEO Shekarappa has instructed the school to stop the process of admissions with immediate effect and also to shut the school, which, the notice says, has been started illegally. The management (SJR Education Institution) of the school is yet to reply to the notice. According to sources in the know, the school was started in a hurry violating norms and many parents have already been conned into admitting their children to the school.

“There is a procedure to establish a school. For the current academic year, the management was to submit a proposal at the BEO’s office on or before October 31, 2012, following which we would conduct an inspection to see if they comply with our checklist, before sending a report to deputy director of public instruction’s (DDPI) office, which will decide if there is a permission to start a school,” the BEO, said.

Pointing out that the management had not complied with any of the procedures, he said, it has been instructed to stop operations immediately and to ensure that parents who have already completed the process of admission be informed. “We have instructed that the management should ensure that the children are enrolled in other schools,” he said.

The notice says that in case the management continues to operate the school, the authorities will have to lodge a complaint under Section 420 of the IPC, meant for cheating.

Land acquired illegally

Investigation using RTI by Madhava Prasad Reddy, an activist, has revealed that the land on which the school building has been constructed was acquired in violation of rules. “It is an Inam land which cannot be transferred,” Reddy said.

According to a complaint, which is being investigated by the Chief Secretary’s office, the  land belongs to a Basaveshwara temple in Tindlu, Anekal taluk. Documents submitted along with the complaint show that the owner, as per land records from 1924, is the temple. The temple’s land was being used by a contractor (Cha. Muniswamappa) from 1969 to 1984. Following his death, the documents reveal, the contract was in the name of Gubba Shetty. “In 1997, Gubba Shetty died and his son, in 2010, filed an application in the name of his father to transfer the land to the educational institution. He claims that the people in the management are his relatives and that he wants to transfer the land,” Reddy said, adding that the contractors have no rights over the land and hence, cannot transfer it to anybody.

He said the deputy commissioner had written a letter to this effect, which, other authorities now claim, is lost, and they have managed to allow this institution to take possession of the land illegally. “There are many officials involved here, and we hope that the inquiry by the chief secretary will provide justice,” he said.