These State Board Schools Used CBSE Syllabus
According to the inquiry report submitted by district education officers (DEOs) and district primary education officers (DPEOs), no less than 100 state board schools were found to be falsely claiming Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) affiliation. After five schools in Rajkot were caught violating norms of the state education board, the state education department ordered an inquiry earlier this month.
The inquiry ended on Tuesday. Of the 100 schools which faked CBSE affiliation, 10 are based in Rajkot, and six in Ahmedabad. State board schools in Bharuch and Dahod were also caught misrepresenting their affiliation. Sources said that these schools were affiliated with the Gujarat Secondary & Higher Secondary Education Board (GSHSEB) but taught in accordance with CBSE guidelines.
So these schools could claim CBSE affiliation and levy higher fees.
Of the total 802 schools in the state which were put under the scanner, 314 have bonafide CBSE affiliation, 17 schools are associated with ICSE board, six schools have been approved by Cambridge and two are affiliated with IB.
“Authorities of the schools which misled students and parents about affiliation will be summoned on Friday by the state education board officials,“ said Mahesh Mehta, DPO, Ahmedabad. “They will be required to submit their affiliation-related documents, and their arguments will be heard.“ Mehta said a decision would be taken on how to penalize the schools by the end of the week. “Penalties will be imposed based on the Right to Education (RTE) Act and Prima ry Education Act. They will range from Rs 10,000 to Rs 5 lakh,“ he said.
Moreover, the government has asked DEOs and DPEOs to identify schools that prescribe reference books of private publications and determine the additional fees being charged for the books. The state education department has noted that certain schools operating from a single campus were claiming to be affiliated to three different education boards: CBSE, ICSE, and GSHSEB. Three such schools were found in Ahmedabad. Official sources said that the government has taken the issue very seriously and has ordered strict action against the schools that flouted norms.
Source – Times of India – Ahmedabad – 22nd December 2016
