Tamil Nadu   

Bench orders closure of school

MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has directed the State government to close down a government-aided minority middle school here for having been “mismanaged” by its “tainted” correspondent with a scanty strength of two-four students in each class.

Justice K. Chandru passed the order while dismissing a writ petition filed by L.S. Mailanathan, correspondent of Balarengapuram Middle School at Kamarajarpuram. The petitioner was facing a criminal trial for allegedly raising Rs. 1.25 crore in loan in the names of his schoolteachers by creating false documents.

The officials were directed to transfer 25 students of Standard I-VIII studying in the school to other schools in the locality and redeploy the teachers. Mr. Justice Chandru also ordered the removal of the correspondent from the post of secondary grade teacher and disciplinary action against him for not reporting to work since March 25, 2005.

The correspondent had filed the writ petition to quash an order passed by the District Elementary Education Officer who had refused to hand over the service records of teachers to him.

On the other hand, the DEEO said he was empowered to take over the management and pay the salaries directly to the teachers if the correspondent failed to discharge his duties as per the Tamil Nadu Minority Schools (Recognition and Payment of Grant) Rules 1977.

In her counter affidavit, the headmistress said the teachers were facing many civil suits owing to the “fraud” committed by the correspondent.

She also apprehended that the petitioner might destroy their service registers out of vindictiveness as it was the teachers who had filed a criminal complaint against him.

In the inspection report filed before the court, Education Department officials said the school suffered from lack of infrastructure, scanty student strength and encroachment on its property by private parties.

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