Karnataka - Bangalore

Cyclostyled orders save 12 schools from derecognition

BANGALORE: In what could be termed as a major embarrassment to the Education Department, the Karnataka High Court on Thursday told off the department officials for passing cyclostyled orders derecognising several primary schools in the State.

The court observed that it had several years ago deprecated the practice by the Government and its officials in passing cyclostyled orders. The court said in this case orders were passed in a mechanical and arbitrary manner.

The orders, it said, were passed on cyclostyled sheets of papers and in many cases the blanks were filled up by the officials.

The court took exception to orders passed in such a manner and quashed all orders of derecognition of 12 primary schools of Bangalore South, Bangalore North, Chikamagalur, Udupi and Chitradurga districts.

The schools had petitioned the High Court against orders passed by the jurisdictional Deputy Director Of Public Instruction (DDPI) derecognising the institutions for failing to obey the State policy on medium of instruction.

In their notices to the schools, the DDPIs had said that the schools had violated the norms by teaching in English, while they had given an undertaking that they would teach in the medium in which they had been granted recognition.

They had urged the court to quash the notification and give them the benefit of the July 2, 2008, judgement by the Full Bench of the High Court quashing the State policy on medium of instruction.

Justice S. Abdul Nazir quashed the order and remitted them back to the authorities for fresh hearing.

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