Pre-primary section of Orchids school illegal

Mangalore Today News Network

Bangalore, Oct 24, 2014 DHNS:  Orchids The International School, Jalahalli, where a three-year-old girl was sexually abused on Tuesday, has been running a pre-primary and higher primary section illegally ever since it started functioning in 2013.

The school has also falsely claimed to be affiliated to  Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). Commissioner for Public Instruction (DPI) Mohammed Mohsin said that a criminal case will be registered against the school.

Documents with Deccan Herald show that Orchids International had obtained permission on March 26, 2013, from the education department to start a Kannada-medium school for classes I to V under the state board.

The school, however, admitted students for UKG, LKG and classes VI and VII without permission.

“To start UKG and LKG sections, permission is needed from the Block Education Office (BEO). For starting a higher primary section, the school needs to register with the office of the deputy director of public instruction. The school did not fulfil any of these criteria,” said an official.

Strangely, a letter dated December 7, 2013, written by one C Rama Naik, a retired education co-ordinator under the BEO, Bangalore North Zone- 2, stated that Orchids International was running a Kannada-medium school for classes I to V.
The official said the contents of the letter were “false”.
 
 The school also duped parents by claiming that it was affiliated to CBSE, while it has just applied for the affiliation.

Obtaining an NoC (no objection certificate) from the department is mandatory to start a CBSE or a central syllabus school.

 “The school had merely applied for an affiliation and had paid a fee of Rs 75,000. Even without getting an affiliation or an NoC from the department, they started functioning as a CBSE school, which is in clear violation of the rules,” the official added.

After an inspection of the school on Thursday, Mohsin said: “These violations amount to cheating the public. A notice has been served on the school seeking a reply within a week. We will also try and check if other branches of the school in the City are violating any rules.”

A representative of the school administration said: “All these aspects (rules) are taken care of by the management, we are not allowed to divulge any information.”
The school has eight branches across the City.