Warning against unapproved schools

BHUBANESWAR: The state government has warned parents against admitting their wards in privately-run English or Odia-medium schools that are functioning without the NOC (no-objection certificate) from the state government. The directorate of secondary education has provided a list of 291 approved schools in the state.
“Taking into account the future of the students, we decided to warn parents against schools running without NOC.Students studying in these schools may not get a chance to appear in the boards,” said school and mass education minister Badri Narayan Patra. Action will be taken against the defaulting schools after giving them prior notice, the minister added.
The directorate of secondary education has issued a notice saying: “Complaints are being received from different quarters that some public schools are running unauthorised and due to lack of information, parents are admitting their wards in these institutions thereby causing problems for them.”
According to the list, only 48 public schools have NOC in Khurda district. Out of 67 schools functioning in Bhubaneswar, 38 have been approved by the state government. Interestingly, only one English-medium school each in Dhenkanal and Kendrapada have NOC, while two private schools have been approved for admission of students in Nayagarh and Malkangiri districts, an official source said.
The school authorities alleged that the government had been sitting on their applications for getting NOCs. “Most schools have applied for NOC but the government is delaying the process. These things are beyond us,” said B N Patnaik, chairman of the Confederation of Odisha Public Schools.
The government’s notice has left parents worried. “Why is the government allowing such schools to mushroom? How do we know if a 20-year-old school has an NOC?” wondered Saroj Sahu, a parent.