A day after Rajyotsava, eight aided Kannada-medium schools in Bengaluru South were issued closure orders by the Department of Public Instruction.
Sources in the department said the schools did not comply with the minimum student strength of 25 per section.
“For the past three years the student strength in these schools has not met this condition. As per the provisions of the Karnataka Education Act 1983, the schools have to be closed,” an official said, and added that last month, the school managements had been told to shut down and that aid would no longer be be given to them.
V.P. Nirananaradhya, Fellow, Centre for Child and Law at the National Law School of India University, said Chief Minister Siddaramaiah should ask for an explanation and initiate stringent action.
“Schools that have more than 40 students overall are being asked to close down in the middle of the academic year, causing anxiety among parents and students,” he said.
