Schools are all set to reopen on Monday, but the Department of Primary and Secondary Education is yet to process the applications it has received from school managements across the State, for either starting schools or upgrading sections.
This year, the department has received 2,429 applications for these two purposes, up from last year’s 2,292. The maximum number of applications — 1,016 or 41% — was for classes 6 to 8, followed by primary classes with 942 managements seeking permission to run classes 1 to 5.
Like every year, the maximum number of applications are from private schools in Bengaluru. As many as 369 applications have been received in Bengaluru South and 216 in Bengaluru North. The least number of applications — nine — have come from Sirsi and Udupi districts.
This is the first time the department is granting permission to start classes 1 to 10 and from LKG to high school, in an attempt to streamline the process and cut red tape. “Under this, a single authority will give permission for all classes and managements do not have to approach different authorities for primary, upper primary, and secondary classes,” an official said.
Code of conduct
However, a senior official of the Department of Public Instruction said they would not process the applications till after the code of conduct for the Council polls ends.
Former Primary and Secondary Education Minister Tanveer Sait had said that new private schools would not be given permission to run classes for the next three years so as to give a boost to government schools in the State and control the mushrooming of private schools. The department is also waiting for the new government to take a call on granting permission for new schools, officials said.
