The State government will revisit the proposal by the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) to bring all schools under the ambit of the Karnataka Education Act, 1983.
Initially, the Act had stated that schools affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) would not be under its purview.
However, in 2011, the High Court of Karnataka had said that CBSE and ICSE schools would come under the Karnataka Education Act and had quashed the relevant section.
Commissioner for Public Instruction Mohammad Mohsin said that an amendment would bring more clarity to the Act and bring in more accountability.
Despite the High Court order, officials in the Education Department said that CBSE and ICSE schools were not obeying several circulars and guidelines issued by the department. “Several times, when we try to initiate action against schools for violating sections of the RTE Act, the schools, particularly CBSE and ICSE schools, say that the State government cannot regulate them. This even though we issue no objection certificates to the schools,” a source said.
The Karnataka Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Rules, 2012 also state that the State government could initiate action against schools if they violated RTE Act norms.
