A significant conflict has erupted in Karnataka's education sector as numerous private schools, which have not renewed their official recognition, are strongly opposing a directive from the state's school education department. The department plans to "tag" their students appearing for the Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) board exams to neighboring government schools.
Understanding the 'Tagging' Procedure and KSEAB's Directive
It is a standard protocol that when a school operates without proper authorization, students scheduled to take board examinations are registered under the nearest government school. These candidates then write their exams at the designated government center and subsequently receive their SSLC certificate issued in the name of that government institution.
Acting on this rule, the Karnataka School Examination and Assessment Board (KSEAB) has formally communicated to various deputy directors of school education across the state. The instruction is to identify such schools and initiate the process of tagging their students to government institutions. In response, block education officers and Deputy Directors of Public Instruction (DDPIs) have begun submitting lists of non-compliant schools. For example, reports indicate that at least nine schools have been identified in the Chikkodi block alone.
School Managements Cry Foul, Cite Unfair Harassment
The move has been met with fierce resistance from the private schools' association. D Shashi Kumar, the General Secretary of the Associated Managements of Primary and Secondary Schools in Karnataka (KAMS), has labeled the department's action as unjust. He argued that unlike fly-by-night unauthorized institutions, these schools have been functioning for many years and their students have historically taken the SSLC exams from their own premises.
"That right cannot be taken away from them merely over the issue of renewal of recognition," Kumar stated. He clarified that the recognition renewal (RR) issue was supposedly resolved following High Court judgments and multiple rounds of discussions with top department officials. Consequently, several schools did not even apply for RR this year based on this understanding. However, he alleges that lower-level officials continue to harass schools over the matter.
Kumar further pointed out that schools legally have time until February to renew their recognition, making it unfair to target them as early as December for exam purposes. The association warns that hundreds of schools across Karnataka could be affected by this directive.
Political Intervention and Official Stand
Adding political weight to the protest, Puttanna, a Member of the Legislative Assembly from the teachers' constituency, has written to the department's principal secretary. He demanded the withdrawal of the decision to make students write exams from other schools. In his letter, he referenced a state government-formed house panel that looked into the RR issue, which reportedly recommended allowing students to write exams from their own schools despite recognition problems.
"When such an instruction is currently in place, it is unfair that department officials are issuing letters to move students," Puttanna asserted. On the other hand, when approached, KSEAB officials stated they do not have a consolidated number of such identified schools and indicated that the decision originated from the commissionerate level of the school education department.
The standoff highlights the administrative complexities in school governance and puts the academic continuity of thousands of SSLC students in the balance as the board exam season approaches.
