Unrecognised schools continue to accept admissions for the new academic year (2012-13) in violation of norms, while the Department of School Education remains a mute spectator. This newspaper had, in its issues dated December 26, 2011 and January 2, 2012, published a list of 231 unrecognised schools in the city that were functioning without any government approvals. School managements are continuing to cheat parents, showing their registration number as the ‘recognition number’ and going ahead with admissions.
The Hyderabad Department of Education released the list of unrecognised schools five months ago, but its officials have failed to check the offenders from taking fresh admissions nor have they given the matter wide publicity to warn hapless parents. No stern action has been initiated against the erring managements despite several instances of students missing the SSC exam and losing an academic year on account of attending unrecognised schools.
T.P. Singh, a parent, cited the instance of a friend who was dismayed to discover that the school in Golconda his son was attending was not recognised, despite its bold claims, only when his son missed his SSC exam. The management of the school, which was not recognised, had not remitted the fee to the SSC board. To prevent students and parents falling prey to such unscrupulous managements, “The department should release a list of recognised and unrecognised schools before the commencement of admissions every year,” Mr Singh suggested.
As per the Right To Education norms, all schools have to mandatorily seek approval from the government. The managements are liable to a penalty of 1 lakh if they fail to secure approval within three years. If they still continue to function without recognition, the penalty is 10,000 per day. However, the RTE rules remain only on paper as the officials of education department are dilly-dallying over their enforcement.