CBSE disaffiliates NPS, NAFL

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has withdrawn its affiliation to six private schools in Karnataka – National Public Schools at five different locations and the National Academy For learning.

The Karnataka government had lodged a complaint with the CBSE stating that minority status certificates submitted by these schools, run by the National Education Trust and “allied trusts”, were “forged”.

CBSE’s public relation officer Rama Sharma said: “All four National Public Schools set up in Indiranagar, Koramangala, Rajajinagar and 4th Sector HSR Layout of Bengaluru have been disaffiliated along with the National Academy for Learning in Basaveshwaranagar and NPS International School in Vijayanagar, Mysuru.”

Sharma said the state’s commissioner for public instruction stated in the complaint that the school managements were indulging in “fraudulent means” to claim exemptions from the provisions of the Right to Education (RTE) Act.

The Act stipulates 25% reservation in admission to children from the economically weaker sections of society. With the disaffiliation, these schools will not have “any authority” to use the “CBSE tag” for running classes from class I to class XII, a board official told DH.

“All six schools have been directed not to run classes IX and XI under the CBSE pattern with effect from academic session 2017-18,” the CBSE official said.

Since the students of these schools cannot take board examinations for class X and class XII held by the CBSE as their regular students following disaffiliation, these schools will have to approach the CBSE Regional Office and obtain permission for allowing their students to take board examinations as regular students of some other school affiliated to the board, the official added.

When asked if these schools can get the board affiliation again, sources requesting anonymity said: “...it may not be so easy...The CBSE bye-laws stipulates that once affiliation is withdrawn on establishment of serious irregularities which amount to cheating the board or causing embarrassment, the board may blacklist such a school to debar it from seeking re-affiliation in future.”

The Department of Public Instruction in Bengaluru has not received any official communication regarding CBSE’s action. The chairman of  NPS Education Institutions, K Gopalkrishna was not available for comment.