The Gujarat government on Monday stepped up to take action against a Maninagar school where a Class X student had allegedly stabbed his classmate three months ago. After the incident came to light, several irregularities and discrepancies by the trust running the school also cropped up.
Citing “interests of more than 10,000 students currently studying in the school’, the state government has now decided to appoint the Ahmedabad City District Education Officer as the administrator of the three different schools run within the same premise—primary section and two different secondary sections affiliated to the ICSE Board for Classes I till XII and the Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board (GSHSEB) approved for classes XI and XII Science stream.
“Based on the report of the investigation committee constituted as per the directives of the state government, the proposal was sent for taking over the administration and it has been accepted. The administration will be taken over once the office receives the written order,” the District Education Officer, Ahmedabad City Rohit Chaudhary told The Indian Express.
The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation is also expected to take action against the authorities for “breaching terms of the lease agreement”.
The state government has noted the school has submitted the Building Use (BU) permission certificate for only Block B, which was obtained on June 20, 2009, while the BU permission as per the existing construction has not been provided by the school authorities.
The administration of the schools operating within the campus has been taken over by the state government on the condition that no new admission shall be given to any student in this school.
It is hereby decided that the administration of the schools mentioned below operating in the school campus shall be taken over by the state government on the condition that no new admission shall be given to any student in this school and the District Education Officer, Ahmedabad City shall be appointed as the administrator of these schools.
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After massive protests by parents erupted on the campus the following day of the alleged stabbing incident, the school was shut by the District Education Officer (DEO). In phases, the school reopened all the classes on October 10.
DEO Ahmedabad Rohit Chaudhary further revealed that the action – recommended in his report submitted to the state government on October 18 – was based on several irregularities detected by the committee.
“The stabbing incident was not the only reason for the action but several irregularities were detected including the school has not submitted a certificate of minority status for the primary section, no clarity on the trust running the school along with failure to submit documents sought by the committee. Also, prior approval of the concerned board should be obtained to start additional classes; no such papers were submitted by the school,” the DEO said.
The Government Resolution (GR) issued on Monday by the state government has listed the discrepancies which include, “It is unclear which trust/society is operating the school. The documents submitted by the school mention different trusts/societies. As per Chapter 1, Rule 2(a) of CISCE Rules, the school should be managed by a single registered society, trust or company which is not for profit, but no clarification has been provided in this regard.”
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“Considering the ambiguity regarding the trust/society, sale of books and profiteering in the school, lack of permission to run the school in shifts and breach of the rental agreement, the report has been reviewed by the Education Department, Fee Regulatory Committee (FRC), guardians. The students’ credibility has been violated and the affidavit and evidence submitted at the time of FRC and school approval have been falsely presented. Accordingly, under Rule 104(2) of the Bombay Primary Education Rules 1949, the provision for taking over the administration (possession) of any private school by the Government has been recommended by the Director of Primary Education to hand over the administration to the District Education Officer as its controlling officer as per the provision of Rule 102(a)(b)(2),” the GR stated.
Further, it is mandatory to obtain prior approval from the concerned board for any change in the administration, trust or school premises of the school. However, documents of approval obtained for any such change have not been submitted.
The GR further states, ‘The land on which the school is currently situated has been given on a 99-year lease by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation to the India Financial Association of Seventh Day Adventists for educational purposes. The school is being managed by a separate organisation called “The Council of Seventh-Day Adventist Educational Institutions/Ashlock Education Trust”. Thus, prima facie it appears that the terms of the lease agreement have been breached as the lessee and the managing organisation are different. According to the map submitted by the school, only two buildings are mentioned in the school campus and the map is presented in detail only for Block B, which was approved in the year 2015, while the school has three buildings namely ALPHA, SHELOM, and OMEGA.’
“Selling books in the school premises is tantamount to profiteering. ‘Profiteering’ is prohibited under Section 2(r) of the Gujarat Self-Employed Schools (Fee Regulation) Act, 2017. The by-laws regarding affiliation with any board also direct schools to refrain from any kind of commercial activities and to function as non-profit making institutions. The audited accounts submitted by the school document the sale of books,” the GR stated.
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Prima facie, it appears there has been a clear violation of the law. Moreover, while it is mandatory to take the permission of the concerned board before running the school in two shifts, conditions like separate staff, separate records, and approval of the board have to be followed. However, no documents of approval in this regard have been submitted, which can be called a defect, stated the GR. Also, MBA and Bachelor of Science and Arts colleges are functioning in the school campus. For which ICSE Board’s NOC dated May 25, 2022 has been submitted. But Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board’s NOC has not been submitted.
Following the incident, representations were received to take action against the school, pursuant to which the Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board and the Director, Primary Education Office asked the District Education Officer, Ahmedabad to conduct an investigation and submit a report regarding the functioning, approval and recognition of the school.
Pursuant to which, the officers appointed by the District Education Officer, Ahmedabad conducted a site inspection, and an investigation was conducted by the investigation committee constituted under the provisions of Rule 14 of Gujarat RTE Rules – 2012 under the RTE Act – 2009 and ICSE Affiliation Rules.
Further detailed instructions for taking over the administration of the school by the state government shall be published separately by the Director, Office of Primary Education, and the Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board, the state government said.
