Parents concerned over unrecognised private schools

Move to close such schools postponed due to polls: official

With just about two weeks to go before the next academic year commences, parents have expressed concern over the lack of information on the closure of unrecognised private schools in the city.

The Department of School Education closed 30 primary and nursery schools here on June 10 last year when they re-opened after summer holidays over the recognition issue. This lead to public protests by parents who questioned the department as to why they did not close them down earlier, thereby giving time to get their children admitted in other schools.

A parent, who sought anonymity, says his son was admitted in LKG in a private school that was initially ordered to be closed down last year. However, the school managed to obtain temporary recognition and kept running for the entire year.

Claiming that it has sorted out the recognition issue, the school is conducting admissions and has asked parents to pay the fees for next academic year soon.

However, the management refuses to divulge anymore information on this issue and says the school will re-open on June 2.

To avoid confusion, the department initially planned to close down schools lacking recognition on April 22, the final day of the last academic year. It had stated that 56 schools lacking recognition had been identified in Coimbatore and would be closed down. However, it never announced the list of private schools leaving parents in the lurch, he adds.

A senior official from the Department says the move to close these schools was postponed due to elections and Model Code of Conduct taking effect. A decision on closure of schools can be taken only with concurrence of the district administration, which will not take any major decision till such time the Code remained in effect, the official adds.

Priority

All Private Schools Welfare Association State president Maya Devi Shankar says the department must accord priority to closing down private schools that are either unrecognised or have not renewed their recognition.

Students going out from such schools face problems over their Transfer Certificates. Even though schools are barred from asking for TC till class VIII, most of them do. They also refuse to accept students coming from unrecognised schools, she adds.