Reshma Ravishanker 

Karnataka’s department of school education and literacy has issued a circular enlisting a set of regulations for private schools for setting up additional sections in schools.

The circular issued on Thursday seeks that private unaided schools pay an extra fee for establishment of new sections and maintain a specific teacher-student ratio while setting them up.

Private unaided must apply online for the same. Schools must ensure a maximum class strength of 40 for primary sections and 80 for high school.

Schools will also be mandated to follow all school safety building norms and have an NOC from the fire department. Additionally, the management must sign an undertaking that no aid shall be sought for the establishment of these new sections at present or in the future and is to be self-sustained.

The deputy director of administration of the department will be the nodal officer authorize the setting up of these new sections. The department has also announced an additional fee to be paid for starting a new section. For primary classes, schools must pay Rs 5,000; for secondary education Rs 10,000 and Rs 15,000 for primary and secondary classes.

It may be recollected that private schools have been opposing the new norm by the government that mandates managements to seek permission from the department before setting up additional sections.

D Shashi Kumar, general secretary, Associated Managements of Private Schools in Karnataka said that the circular needs clarification.

“So far as the class strength is concerned, there is no clarity on whether it applies to all sections. In case the school has admitted one extra student, will it be unauthorized to add to the new section?” he sought to know.

In 2023, the Karnataka government declared over 1,300 schools as unauthorized for various lapses. Among them were schools that had not sought permission to set up new sections, drawing the ire of private school managements.

“In 2006, Karnataka governor had passed an order that permanently unaided schools must give an undertaking that if they were considering additional sections, they will not seek any funds in the future. No permission was to be sought for extra classes. The teacher to student ratio and infrastructure provision for these classes would be checked at the time of renewal of recognition. This is a new mechanism designed to extort money,” Shashi Kumar said.

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