Bengaluru: The Baldwin Group of Schools has found itself in a rut after parents staged protests outside two of the group’s schools on May 21 and 22. The parents’ complaint was that the school charged exaggerated prices for books and uniforms.
A complaint was filed by the Karnataka Associated Management of Primary and Secondary Schools with the education department against the school for allegedly lobbying with vendors and forcing parents to buy textbooks at inflated rates, after which the protest was staged.
Notices from the primary and secondary education department were sent to the Baldwin Group of Institutions on Tuesday, May 22 based on the complaint filed by the association.
According to the association, the schools were “indulging in business” with publishers and vendors and the parents have said that the books being displayed are not in compliance with the NCERT or ICSE syllabi.
The General Secretary of the association said that a complaint about the same issue was made earlier as well. He also added that forcing parents to buy from a particular vendor or directly from the school is a violation of the government’s order given on February 6.
Shalini Rajneesh, Principal Secretary of the Primary and Secondary Education department said that a meeting would be held with the District Education Regulation Authority (DERA) and DDPIs from Bengaluru on May 23 regarding the issue and decide on steps to be taken against schools that indulge in such activities. “All DDPIs have been instructed to bring up such complaints before the district commissioner in the meeting,” she added.
