Private schools affiliated to the state board that appoint teachers without the right qualification or fail to display their names and education status in a prominent place in the institution will have to cough up a fine of up to ₹5 lakh.
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This is one of the provisions of The Karnataka Education (Second Amendment) Act, 2017, now gazetted. This penalty is to be imposed only after the District Education Regulatory Authority (DERA) gives the management an opportunity to present their point of view.
Ajay Seth, Additional Chief Secretary of the Department of Primary Education, said that the department would take into consideration faced by school managements in retaining good and qualified teachers. “A non-compliance due to sudden departure of a qualified teacher will not attract the penalty. However any significant non-compliance continuing over long period will be viewed seriously inviting penalty commensurate to the nature and extent of non-compliance besides being put in the public domain for information of parents,” he said.
According to the National Council for Teacher Education, a lower primary teacher needs to have a diploma in teacher education and must have completed pre-university or equivalent course. An upper primary teacher needs to have completed graduation and completed a D.Ed or B.Ed. A high school teacher needs to have completed graduation and B.Ed.
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The act also brings all schools (including CBSE and ICSE) under the ambit of the Karnataka Education Act, 1983, for matters pertaining to fee structure and child safety norms.