Sasikala, the school principal, was arrested after a police complaint under the Juvenile Justice Act.
Thiruvananthapuram:
Police deployment on school premises is not a common sight. But it was so, at the Jawahar English Medium School in Thiruvananthapuram which reopened under state government orders this morning.
The school was shut down on September 30, five days after a four-year-old child was locked up in a dog cage by his teacher allegedly as punishment for talking in class.
Sasikala, the Principal who was running the school from her home, was arrested after a police complaint under the Juvenile Justice Act. Currently out on bail, she has denied the allegation. "The child was never locked up in a kennel, it's a fabricated news," she told NDTV.
The Department Of General Education, in a notice, has maintained that the school cannot be reopened because it is not recognised by the department and has flouted rules under the Right to Education Act. It further says that the functioning of the school itself is ab-initio void (to be treated as invalid from the outset). The notices also says, "You are hereby directed to make provisions for admitting the students studying in your school to nearby recognised schools."
Meanwhile, school authorities have claimed that they are registered under the aegis of National Institute of Open Schooling. However, as per the Right To Education Act, it is mandatory for all schools in a state to obtain recognition from the state government.
School manager Ravindran Pillai says, "We have all the documents, we will provide everything required."
The state government has ordered a stay on the closure orders till the enquiry and proceedings are completed citing mid-academic year as a reason.
This has raised the debate on unrecognised schools functioning within the state. According to the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) unit in Kerala, more than 1400 unrecognised schools function in the state, of which 203 are within the district.
The Kerala government has asked all unrecognised schools to furnish documents to avoid closure, the deadline for which has been extended thrice. The current deadline ends on December 31.
The school was shut down on September 30, five days after a four-year-old child was locked up in a dog cage by his teacher allegedly as punishment for talking in class.
Sasikala, the Principal who was running the school from her home, was arrested after a police complaint under the Juvenile Justice Act. Currently out on bail, she has denied the allegation. "The child was never locked up in a kennel, it's a fabricated news," she told NDTV.
The Department Of General Education, in a notice, has maintained that the school cannot be reopened because it is not recognised by the department and has flouted rules under the Right to Education Act. It further says that the functioning of the school itself is ab-initio void (to be treated as invalid from the outset). The notices also says, "You are hereby directed to make provisions for admitting the students studying in your school to nearby recognised schools."
Meanwhile, school authorities have claimed that they are registered under the aegis of National Institute of Open Schooling. However, as per the Right To Education Act, it is mandatory for all schools in a state to obtain recognition from the state government.
School manager Ravindran Pillai says, "We have all the documents, we will provide everything required."
The state government has ordered a stay on the closure orders till the enquiry and proceedings are completed citing mid-academic year as a reason.
This has raised the debate on unrecognised schools functioning within the state. According to the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) unit in Kerala, more than 1400 unrecognised schools function in the state, of which 203 are within the district.
The Kerala government has asked all unrecognised schools to furnish documents to avoid closure, the deadline for which has been extended thrice. The current deadline ends on December 31.
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