A recent circular by the department of school education yet again has mandated NOCs for registration renewal of private schools irking the school management representatives over the same.

In a letter addressed to school education minister Madhu Bangarappa on Tuesday, the Associated Managements of Primary and Secondary Schools in Karnataka said that the circular issued on October 18 is not justifiable.

“The circular directs that schools seeking renewal of recognition must comply with fire safety, building safety, biometric attendance, and 30-year registration renewal, and without these documents’ recognition cannot be renewed. Since the final decision of the Legislature Committee is pending and the case is also sub judice, we request that renewal be given by taking an undertaking (bond) from applicant schools,” KAMS sought.

It may be recollected that the High Court order dated November 14, 2022 on previous government orders mandating fire and building safety were quashed for older schools. For schools established before 2017-18, the new rules (of 2018) are to apply only to newly started institutions, and compliance for old institutions is impractical.

Consecutive meetings chaired by Dr Shailendra Kumar and Tushar Girinath, principal secretaries had discussed these issues where it was recommended to simplify procedures for old and socially grown institutions.

“Issuing such an order ignoring senior officers, education department inputs, and court judgments will create administrative burden: DEOs and DDPI will again demand all compliance certificates; schools will be forced to run pillar-to-post with middlemen, harassment, and corruption instead of focusing on academic quality. Despite repeated representations, no relief has been provided,” said D Shashi Kumar, general secretary, KAMS.

Also Read: Karnataka: Internal Languages War