Bengaluru Several parents protested at a private school in Bengaluru on Tuesday, alleging that the management falsely claimed that it is affiliated with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE).
The parents gathered in front of the Orchids International School in Nagarabhavi and expressed outrage at the school administration for duping them of lakhs of rupees in fees, while claiming to be affiliated with the CBSE
“During admissions, they told us that Orchids The International School was affiliated to CBSE board. My daughter is studying in UKG. I’m dropping her to this school which is far away from my place only because it is a CBSE school. Now, they are saying that it is not a CBSE school, but is affiliated to the state,” a parent said.
“They are not agreeing to reduce the school fees. Now that there is one month to go for the exams, they have told us that it is state syllabus. We have been cheated,” another parent said.
“There are more than 1,000 students at this school. I have paid fees for two of my kids for seven years here assuming it is a CBSE school. Didn’t no one in the education department know about this? I urge education minister BC Nagesh to look into this and take necessary action against the school authorities,” another parent said.
According to sources, the issue came to light after the school started providing state syllabus books to students of classes 5 and 8 recently. The school, which is under the state board, and has permission to operate till Class 8. However, they were found to be operating classes 9 and 10 as well.
Nagarjuna, the parent of a class 2 student at the school, said it was unfortunate that the school has cheated the parents and students. “It’s not a great thing to happen. My kid is in Class 2. Orally they mentioned that they were a CBSE school. The management said that they have applied for CBSE accreditation two months back. But they have been running the school under the guise of CBSE for over seven years,” he said.
“When we spoke to them before admissions, they were so confident about being a CBSE school. Even now, they are saying that they have done nothing wrong. That is the attitude of the authorities,” he said.
“I’ve been at the school since Tuesday morning. Some of the parents mentioned that when there was some delay in paying the fees, the authorities were so rude that they threatened to make their kids stand in front of the school,” he added.
The school was also allegedly sending students to take examination for Class 10 to its other branches in the city which have CBSE license.
Meanwhile, amid protests by parents, the department of public instruction sent representatives to the school to take stock of the situation. “Representatives of the DDPI were at the school to assess the situation. They took written complaints from the parents and said they would visit again on Wednesday morning,” a parent said.
In July 2022, two branches of the Orchid school – Magadi Road and Haralur Road – were shut as they were operating without permission.
