Admitting for the first time lapses on the part of officials in allowing the school in Jalahalli, where a three-year-old girl was raped, to function, the Primary and Secondary Education Minister Kimmane Ratnakar on Wednesday said that it is not legally possible to allow the institution to run the illegal sections, which has 567 students.
He, however, said that the department is still undecided on the issue. “We have to look at some of the laws and will take a decision after we meet the parents on Thursday,” he said.
His comments come in the light of parents and the school management requesting the government to allow the school to run for the reminder of the academic year.
Following an hour-and-a-half meeting with senior officials of the department, the Minister said, “The school will have to be penalised. If we allow the school to run, it would be violation of the Karnataka Education Act, RTE Act and the Karnataka Prohibition of Admission of Students to Un-recognised and Un-affiliation Education Institutions Act, 1992. There is no exemption clause.”
A criminal case has already been booked by the department against the management of the ‘international’ school in Jalahalli for cheating and running pre-primary classes and classes six and seven illegally.
Meanwhile, sources in the department said that relocating 28 students from class six and class seven to nearby schools mid-way through the academic year is being contemplated. However, the future of 539 studying in pre-primary classes is yet to be decided.
“Our main concern is to make arrangements for students studying in classes six and seven, as they will have to cope with academics. It may not have serious repercussions academically on children from pre-primary classes,” a source said.
