Education department at sea on 'unauthorised' schools in City

The Department of Public Instruction (DPI) is yet undecided on the action to be initiated against “unauthorised” schools in the City.

Though the department has come out with a list of schools running without government mandate on its website, there is still no clarity on the fate of such schools. The recent revelations of several schools functioning without requisite permission from the government, had prompted the department to host a list of such schools on the DPI website. 

The list of “unauthorised” schools on the DPI website includes those conducting classes in English medium while the government has granted permission only for Kannada medium. But, whether these schools are authorised or unauthorised itself is under question as the State government is yet to make its stand clear on the language policy.

 Quoting Supreme Court and High Court verdicts in this connection, in their favour, school managements have contended that they are fully authorised to conduct classes in English medium. Strangely, the government itself has not made its stand clear on the issue. In such a situation, the DPI is at sea over the action to be initiated on these schools.

No specific action
That apart, even with respect to schools that have been included in the list of unauthorised schools for other violations, the DPI has not charted out a specific course of action except seeking explanation from the schools.

 According to Mohammed Mohsin, Commissioner for Public Instruction, the block education officers (BEOs) have been asked to issue notices to the schools seeking explanation on violation of norms. The schools will be given 15 days’ time to reply to the notice. The action taken would depend on the extent of the violation.

Even as the department has invited objections from the public with regard to the list published, the BEOs are busy revising the list. They have also began separating those schools listed for violation of language policy from those identified for other violations.

Meanwhile, it has been found that some schools were included in the list by mistake. The list is also being revised on the basis of the objections submitted by the school managements.

M Gopalakrishna, BEO (North Zone I) told Deccan Herald that in his zone, around 192 schools were listed as unauthorised for conducting classes in English medium.

Speaking to Deccan Herald, M Gopalakrishna, BEO (North Zone I), said that in his zone, around 192 schools were listed as unauthorised for conducting classes in English medium. A separate list of such schools is now being prepared. A similar exercise has been taken up in South Zone (II). The BEO of this zone, Nagarathna said that they still did not have the exact number of schools listed for violation of language policy. Parents anxious over admissions
The list schools running without government mandate has caused much confusion, especially among parents wanting to apply for admissions under the RTE quota.

Several schools functioning for a considerable number of years have been listed as unauthorised, causing anxiety for parents.

“Until the department decides its future course of action, parents are advised to ask schools for authorisation certificates from the government before applying for seats,” said Mohammed Moshin,Commissioner for Public Instruction. He added that schools were obligated to produce these certificates on demand by parents.