Another branch of Orchid International school booked in Bengaluru

Another FIR has been registered against Orchids: The International School, in Bengaluru.

Ten days after the Magadi Road branch of the school was shut down for allegedly running without permission, an FIR has been filed against the Sarjapur Road branch for the same reason.

The Block Education Officer (BEO) of Bengaluru South lodged a complaint against the school branch in Haraluru village, saying that the school was operating despite its application seeking permission got rejected by the authorities.

As per reports, unlike the Magadi Road branch, authorities have not sealed the Haraluru school building as there is permission to run pre-primary sections.

The Haraluru branch housed nearly more than 70 students in classes 1 to 6. As per reports, they have been relocated to nearby schools.

Earlier a BEO had filed an FIR against the Magadi school branch at Byadarahalli police station.

The complaint was filed under the Karnataka Education Act (1933) for running the school without obtaining permission from the Department of School Education and Literacy and illegally taking fees from parents for admissions.

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According to the BEO, the school was illegally running classes from pre-nursery to Class 7.

The Orchids- The International school in its statement has said: “We have applied for the necessary permissions/licenses/authorisations from the state education department and we were expecting the approvals. Based on our ongoing construction work and looking at our infrastructure and brand name, many parents have shown interest in enrolling their children. It was only recently we received a rejection intimation from them due to some clarifications required and thereby we have applied and sought all the approvals. We are hopeful to receive the permission shortly.”

The school representatives further informed that they are redirecting the parents to other nearby Orchid branches ensuring continuity of education and the children relocated will receive all the services offered at their schools as per their standard practices.

As per reports, with the school chain headquartered in Mumbai, the chain in Bengaluru was showing inconsistencies which had prompted the investigation of whether a school was registered or not and whether it had all building safety approvals.

Meanwhile, the department of public instruction has directed local officials to visit schools, verify documents and make a list of unauthorised schools.

The officials have also been instructed to investigate whether the state syllabus is being strictly followed or if there is some violation.