Intl school faces FIR for not taking permits

NT Correspondent
Bengaluru

Barely a month after its inauguration, an FIR has been registered against Orchids International School located on Magadi Road for running classes without the required government permits. The Byadarahalli police have booked a case against Orchids International School after a complaint was lodged by Ramesh V, Block Education Officer North-1.

As per the complaint, the school management had not taken a licence from the education department for functioning. The school had also admitted students from kindergarten to grade 7 without clearing the necessary mandates and classes for the current academic year were being held. The police have issued a notice to the principal and secretary of the school to appear for questioning.

The Orchids has issued a statement claiming that it has applied to all the necessary permissions, licences and authorisations from the state education department and were expecting the approvals. “On the basis of our ongoing construction work and looking at our infrastructure and brand name, many parents have shown interest to enroll their kids.

It was only recently we received a rejection intimation from them due to clarifications required and thereby we have reapplied and sought all the approvals. We are hopeful to receive permission shortly,” the statement said.

“In the interim, we are redirecting the parents to other nearby Orchid branches ensuring the continuity of their children’s education and they will receive all the services offered at our schools as per our standard practices. We are a lawabiding and responsible school chain with over 60+ branches in the country and at Orchids International School, holistic education of our students is pivotal,” the statement added.

Issues in Horamavu branch

Meanwhile, the Horamavu branch of Orchids is facing a heavy backlash on social media, after some parents brought out a range of pressing issues. Affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), the school has been allegedly offering incentives to children who do not frequent the washroom in order to avoid a rush.

Parents have alleged that the school has been giving “stars” to students who do not use the washroom frequently, as there are not enough washrooms to cater to the total strength of the students. In a Facebook post, a parent said, “They lack basic infrastructure such as labs, toilets, classrooms and playgrounds. Kids are given stars for not using toilets as they don’t have enough of them. My kid comes home almost every single day and runs to pee as he has to come down three floors to pee every time.”

The parent also stated there has been a sudden spike in the admissions and to accommodate all the students, existing labs have been turned into classrooms, multiple sections are being combined and kids are being asked to move around classes consistently with their heavy bags. The parent claimed that the school charges a fee of Rs 23,000 for books and uniforms.

“My kid’s book bag is almost 5+ kgs and he has to carry them through four floors. In between, he has to go up and down carrying the whole thing due to lack of classrooms. He literally begs us, “can you please carry my bags until the entrance.” Dismissals are another joke. They say buses are equipped with GPS and can be tracked. One of my friend’s kids came home at 5:30 pm due to a bus breakdown and there was no single communication,” another parent wrote.

“The principal is very rude to parents. She has her own clarification and does not want to listen to any complaints. She said if you have any problems with us you can take TC,” another parent alleged a lack of communication from responsible authorities on the same post. The school has not responded despite NewsTrail’s repeated attempts to get their comments