Orchid School under fire for operating without CBSE affiliation
Many parents, who had assumed the meeting was related to the reopening of the school, gathered in large numbers expecting a routine update, but were instead told that the affiliation process would take another 45 days
Parents of students enrolled at Orchid International School in Sus, were left stunned after the school management called for an urgent meeting on Sunday morning, only to inform them that the school could not operate from the Sus campus due to a lack of CBSE affiliation. Many parents, who had assumed the meeting was related to the reopening of the school, gathered in large numbers expecting a routine update, but were instead told that the affiliation process would take another 45 days.
As a temporary solution, the school offered three choices to parents: transferring their children to the Hinjewadi branch of Orchid School, attending online classes, or withdrawing admission with a full refund of fees, along with interest. The sudden announcement sparked outrage among parents, many of whom now face the challenge of making last-minute decisions about their children’s education.
In response to the issue, nearly 300 agitated parents gathered on the campus, protesting against the school and calling it a complete fraud.
One parent of a first-grade student, speaking anonymously to Hindustan Times, said, “This is complete fraud. If the School did not have the necessary permission, why did they take admissions for the 2025 academic year? They assured us that the affiliation would be completed, and the school would operate from this campus in Sus. I asked principal Rekha P several times and only paid the fees after receiving confirmation from her.”
The school, which opened in 2023, is now facing serious allegations from parents for running without the required permissions. Parents claim the school management repeatedly assured them that they would complete the necessary approvals within a few months, initially promising clearance in two months, then extending the timeline to six months, and so on.
Rinkukumari Chaurasia, another parent, said, “The management is offering us a refund with interest, but schools are reopening tomorrow (Monday). Which school will accept our children now? All admissions are already full. How will we get our children enrolled? We are now demanding that the school take responsibility for securing admissions for our children in another school. Only then will we accept the refund. This is a complete waste of one academic year for our children.”
Principal Rekha P refused to comment when asked about the school’s operation without permission and walked away without providing any answers. Parents also allege discrimination during the admission process, claiming that some were informed of the situation, while others were misled about the CBSE affiliation.
“They called an emergency meeting for all parents, just one day before school was supposed to start. Now, they’re giving us the option to either send our children to the Hinjewadi branch, attend online classes, or withdraw admission. This is outrageous. We’ve been stuck here for two years. They keep making promises, but no action is taken, and there’s no progress. We paid ₹1.25 lakh,” said one parent, who requested anonymity.
Parents have also criticised the school for offering no flexibility with fee deadlines, while now asking for 45 more days to resolve the issue. They claim they have written multiple emails to the school with no response and are now demanding that the top management, Dr Lakshmi Kumar or Orchid’s CEO, Jai Decosta, address their concerns directly.
“There can be issues, but they must be addressed. The silence of the owners is unacceptable. The future of our children is at stake,” said another parent.
The school’s legal advisor stated, “If the school does not begin operations within 45 days, full refunds with interest will be issued, and children’s travel to Hinjewadi will be arranged. Refunds will be processed within 7 working days.” However, parents are demanding immediate refunds within two days and guaranteed admissions to other schools.
“Our priority is our children’s education, and the school is carelessly jeopardising their future. I was not in Pune and was delayed by two days for a one-time fee discount, and they immediately cancelled it. Now they want more time? They didn’t give us even a single day’s extension to pay the fees, so why should we give them time now? It was our mistake for not verifying these things before enrolling our children,” said a parent of a first-grade student.
When asked for a comment, Mahesh Palkar, director of education (Primary and Secondary), stated, “Orchid School’s proposal has been submitted to the government and is currently under process. The school has received an Expression of Interest (EOI) from the government and has applied for permission to operate.”
