A play school functioning without recognition at Mela Kalkandarkottai in the city was sealed by officials of the Department of School Education on Friday.
The Blossom Play School, officials said, had resumed classes after the summer vacation from the second week of June despite a directive to close down issued by the department for functioning without fulfilling the requirements. The institution had neither formed a trust nor were its buildings approved by the Directorate of Town and Country Planning. Till 2016-17, the school had claimed to have obtained the recognition of Central Board of Secondary Education. It was only after the school had renamed itself as a nursery institution in the subsequent year that the officials of State’s School Education Department could keep tabs on it.
As per procedure, an institution can be run only by a Trust. In case the land does not belong to the Trust, a lease deed for 30 years is mandatory for running the school. In this case, the officials found the institution to be run by an individual, and the lease deed was found to be only for 12 years.
The district administration had, at the outset, made it clear that no unrecognised school will be permitted to function. Earlier this week, Chief Educational Officer Shanthi and Block Education Officer of Tiruverumbur Jayaraman had issued spot instruction to close down the school. Parents of the students in the institution staged a protest in front of the office of Chief Educational Officerand subsequently submitted a petition to the district administration expressing anxiety over the future of their wards.
“We have assured the parents of the department’s support for admitting their wards to schools of their choice in the neighbourhood,” the CEO said.
The school had on its rollsover 200 students in kindergarten sections and classes I to III, it is learnt.
