Hundreds of files related to No Objection Certificates (NOC) for CBSE and ICSE schools have gone missing, a startling discovery that has opened a Pandora’s box for the Department of School Education & Literacy.
An NOC is a prerequisite for a school to get CBSE or ICSE affiliation.
DH has reliably learnt that of the 1,300 schools affiliated to these boards, records are available for 576 only. The missing files go as far back as 2013, highly-placed sources said.
Authorities are now investigating to see if schools are functioning based on a fake NOC or if they got the clearance from lower-level officials without the consent of their higher-ups. “We will get clarity in a few days and make everything public,” a source said.
Also, the department has approached the Union education ministry seeking copies of the NOCs whose files are missing.
That files are missing was found after officials started verifying the affiliation status of all schools based on a directive by Commissioner for Public Instruction R Vishal last month.
Before issuing an NOC, the block education officer (BEO) inspects the school to check if it complies with norms based on which a recommendation is made to the deputy director for public instruction (DDPI). The DDPI sends it to the commissioner, and then to the secretariat. The NOC is issued by the secretariat after clearance from the minister.
It is now suspected that norms might have been flouted at various levels. “NOCs are issued by the under-secretary after approval by the secretary. There are chances of irregularities having taken place at the BEO and under-secretary levels without the secretary’s knowledge,” the source explained.
Many schools in the Bengaluru Urban district, it is learnt, are functioning based on dubious NOCs.
“In one particular year, many schools affiliated to other boards were opened. There are no documents showing ministerial clearance. This made us dig deeper,” the source added.
Apparently, there are agents or touts who help create fake documents for schools, according to one person who runs a private school.
D Shashi Kumar, general secretary at the Associated Managements of Primary and Secondary Schools in Karnataka, welcomed the government’s crackdown. “It is suspected that NOCs were issued indiscriminately to start schools under non-state boards. There are several schools functioning with the CBSE or ICSE board while being under state board, cheating parents and children,” said Kumar, who represents state board schools.
A retired IAS officer who served as education secretary suspects sabotage. “Knowing that the government has taken the matter seriously, those involved in the scam might have destroyed the files.”