A circular issued earlier this month by the Commissioner of the Department of School Education and Literacy (DSEL) to conduct a survey of unauthorised schools in the State again for the academic year of 2023-24 and take appropriate legal action has resulted in confusion.
Schools that have not obtained approval for either the State or the Central curriculum and after integration into the Central curriculum, or which are unofficially conducting the State curriculum in the same building, should be closed immediately, the circular said.
The Commissioner also directed that a complaint should be filed in the police station against the schools that are teaching the Central curriculum after getting permission for the State curriculum.
However, private school managements have expressed strong objection to the circular in the middle of the academic year. “There is confusion due to the lack of coordination between the government and the department in identifying unauthorised schools and taking action. This order of the department will lead to corruption,” they alleged.
In 2022-23, the department had identified a total of 1,316 schools across the State as unauthorised.
The department had granted 45 days grace period for these schools to follow the rules and rectify their mistake in April 2023, but these schools failed to do so. The Commissioner had ordered to close these unauthorised schools by August 14, 2023.
However, Madhu Bangarappa, Minister for the Department of School Education and Literacy, on August 11, 2023, did a u-turn and announced that the order will be deferred “in the interest of students.”
However, the department has again issued a circular to list unauthorised schools.
Speaking to The Hindu, Shashikumar D., general secretary for Associated Management of Primary and Secondary Schools in Karnataka (KAMS), said, “The department has issued another circular about unauthorised schools, creating confusion again without any clarity. According to an order issued by the State government on March 20, 2006, the private school managements are free to open the additional sections. But, the department has considered this sections are unauthorised. The officials have not only issued the recognisation renewal (RR) for unauthorised schools, but also generated UDISE code and now suddenly are calling them unauthorised. We are not opposed to taking the action against unauthorised schools. But, there are some cases and appeals in the court about unauthorised schools. The department should consider all these issues.”
Asked for a response, B.B. Cauvery, Commissioner of DSEL, said, “The Primary Education section is consolidating information about unauthorised schools from all districts.”
