Panchkula school running sans recognition: HC seeks affidavit from Haryana government

The HC bench of chief justice Sheel Nagu and justice Anil Kshetarpal was hearing an April 2021 plea of a Panchkula resident, Manish Kumar Banger

The Punjab and Haryana high court (HC) has asked the Haryana government to submit an affidavit as to how a private school in Panchkula was allowed to function without recognition in 2020.

HT Image

The HC bench of chief justice Sheel Nagu and justice Anil Kshetarpal was hearing an April 2021 plea of a Panchkula resident, Manish Kumar Banger.

Banger had told the court that he had filed a plea against Sky World School, Panchkula, for running Classes 9 and 10 without obtaining necessary recognition. He alleged that after the plea was filed in 2020, his children were forced to leave the school without any refund of fee.

Taking a serious note of the plea, the HC in August 2021 had passed an order seeking various details from the government authorities. Recently, when the matter was taken up again, it came to light that directions issued in 2021 have still not been complied with. Now, the HC bench has directed that by September 24, an affidavit be filed explaining the steps taken by the authorities against unauthorised schools to prohibit the school in question as well as other similarly situated unrecognised schools from admitting students. Further, it has been asked to explain the reasons for non-compliance of Rule 191A of the Haryana School Education Act, 2003, which provides for taking over the management of the school, withdrawal of recognition etc, if the rules are violated by a school.

The court has also asked for the reasons for permitting the school to continue to impart education to students of Classes 9 and 10 in the absence of recognition.

The petitioner had also alleged that the permission granted to the school in July 2019 was conditional, with a clear stipulation that it would not admit students till recognition is granted. Though the authorities had taken note of this fact, no penal action was taken against the school and the matter was closed by issuing a warning, it was alleged.

His argument was that there are numerous judgments, wherein courts have directed that no school be allowed to function in violation of the provisions of the Haryana School Education Act, 1995. Still, the authorities did not take any action.

During these proceedings, the government had admitted that the school in question was allowed to function even without recognition.