The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Derecognised schools making admissions

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, May 21, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Derecognised schools making admissions

Special Correspondent

Government says making admissions to English-medium classes is gross violation

Bangalore: With the reopening of schools barely 10 days away, the question of admissions has become a tricky issue for the 2,215 schools that were derecognised in April 2006 for violating the State's language policy.

The High Court's stay on the voluntary penalty scheme started by the Education Department — which had given the managements the option of seeking re-recognition after paying a penalty and a commitment to make new admissions to Kannada medium classes — is being interpreted by some schools as a green signal for fresh admissions to English medium classes.

Admissions

"We are making new admissions and only to English medium classes," said N. Venkatachaliah, president of the Private Unaided Schools Action Committee.

G.S. Sharma, president of Karnataka Unaided Schools Managements' Association (KUSMA), said that the schools were authorised to make fresh "enrolment and registration" to English medium classes "in anticipation of a fair judgement in favour of parents."

Meeting

The Karnataka State Private School Managements' Federation, an umbrella organisation of derecognised schools, held a meeting on Saturday and passed a resolution that they would go ahead with fresh admissions to English medium classes. "Who will want to enrol their children even if we want to make fresh admissions to Kannada medium classes?" asked N.A. Anand, president of the federation.

Government's stand

On the other hand, both Minister for Primary and Secondary Education Minister Basavaraj S. Horatti and the Commissioner of the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) are categorical in their stand that making new admissions to Class I to English medium classes is a gross violation. "We will bring it to the court's notice if they are doing it," said DPI Commissioner M. Madan Gopal.

Penalty

The stay is only on the penalty imposed as per the voluntary scheme and not on derecognition or on the language policy, he added. Many schools had come forward to pay the fine and seek re-recognition, subject to the final decision of the court, he said.

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