The Nagarabhavi branch of the Orchids International School has received a notification from the Block Education Officer (BEO) of Bengaluru South 1 to stop enrolling children. The school had pretended that they were affiliated with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), when in reality they were recognised by the Karnataka State Board. This is the fourth notice issued by the Department of Public Instruction to the school in the past few months over similar allegations.
On January 24, hundreds of parents protested in front of the school. Parents asked the school administration to return their fees. Orchids International School charges Rs one lakh as tuition for kindergarten students which goes up to Rs 1.6 lakhs for grades 9 and 10.
The government had issued a notice to the school in August 2022 over the admission of children to their branch that they claimed was affiliated to the CBSE, according to Rajashekar HG, the Block Education Officer (BEO) of Bengaluru South-1, who spoke with The Hindu. “The school replied that they were indeed following the State syllabus and even took State board textbooks. But now parents allege they were told that it was a CBSE school. I will visit the school on Wednesday and take suitable action,” he said.