ZP education officer

school

Bishop

NOC

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena

After years of complaints by parents of students applying for admission to The’s School in Camp, claiming that the latter insists on the submission of birth certificates only in the English language, the possibility of repercussions is in the offing. Now, the education officer has finally suggested the withdrawal of the school’s no-objection certificate () to the state government, in a letter issued by the Zilla Parishad education office.Over the years, complaints have come from parents about various rules imposed by the school during admissions, despite regular warnings from the education officer. For instance, while birth certificates are usually accepted in the local language of the state, parents claimed they were inconvenienced by the school’s insistence on this document being in English.One such parent, who was vying for his son’s admission here, shared on condition of anonymity, “I was forced to knock on the doors of a different school at the last moment as Bishop’s did not accept my child’s birth certificate in Marathi. We tried to get it in English, but this was not possible. We complained about this to the education officer, so that the school does not continue with such rules in future.”Many such plaints from parents poured in before a committee was set up during this academic year to make inquiries. The latest letter sent by the education officer confirms that the school denied giving any clarifications about its demand, citing only that it can do so because it is a minority school. The missive further states that the school has submitted no documentary evidence of its minority status. Considering all this, ZP (primary) education officer Sunil Kurhade suggested revoking the school’s NOC.“I have issued a letter to the deputy secretary of the state education department in this regard. There have been many complaints from parents during the admission period over the last two years,” Kurhade confirmed to Mirror, adding that the basic inquiry report cleared that the school has submitted no clarifications or documents demanded by the authorities.Many had also complained that the school pressured them to submit ration cards bearing the names of either the parents or students; cards on the names of grandparents or other kin are rejected. The official inquiry report also mentions that the school principal has been accused of never attending any meetings with parents, and always sending non-teaching staffers for the same.All this, said officials, amounts to not following rules laid out in the NOC and permission letter given to the school — and therefore, these may as well be revoked.The letter was sent out by the education office in the face of mounting pressure, soon after the(MNS) students’ union also demanded action on the school.WhenMirror quizzed school authorities about this uproar, Bishop’s spokesperson Markas Deshmukh said, “We ask for translations of birth certificates submitted in the regional language because we want the correct spelling of the student while entering it into the register. What has happened now is a politically motivated complaint. We have not received any letter from the education office till date.”