Tamil Nadu plans to regulate CBSE schools

School administrators too have welcomed the State's move as it would help make errant schools accountable.

When asked about complaints from various quarters that several CBSE schools start their admission before the end of the current academic year and don't adhere to norms laid down by the state government, school education secretary D. Sabitha pointed out that CBSE's byelaws make it clear that CBSE schools need to follow education and other relevant centre/state government Acts.

The state government plans to enforce the norm now and bring CBSE schools under the State's ambit for the benefit of the student community.

Chennai: The Tamil Nadu government is planning to regulate CBSE schools in the state. “We will take up the issue with the Chief Minister, who will take a final call on the matter”, school education secretary D. Sabitha told Deccan Chronicle.

Welcoming the State’s move, Dr R. Kishore Kumar, head of the St. Johns International Residential School in the city said that it would not be wrong to follow the state government’s Act as the CBSE also permits this.

“The state government has put a cap on number of sections in a school, which is not wrong. They say you have good infrastructure, which the CBSE too had mandated so we have no problem in following state government’s norms”, he said.

Eminent academician and school education expert Dr S.S. Rajagopalan pointed out that in Karnataka, all schools including CBSE come under the state’s purview and so it’s high time Tamil Nadu too follows it.

“Prof Yashpal’s committee on ‘learning without burden’ had recommended that CBSE schools should get affiliated to the State Board. When there is such a recommendation by a central committee, why should the state government wait?” he asked.