The Einstein Manufacturer

A large one page advertisement in the Times of India, on a Sunday sometime around November, 2011, drew my attention to the school that promised to churn out an engineer or a doctor out of your child. They call themselves techno school that follows the CBSE curriculum and also have a customized syllabus for the high school students. They also have many branches in Bangalore.

I went to meet the authorities for the details. The principal was not available on the first day I went. But   one gentleman met me ( I do not recollect his name.) He sold the form. The admission form cost Rs. 300/. And he told me the admission process.

• My daughter was required to answer a test to prove her eligibility and capability for admission to this school. ( Yes, age and her previous grade sheet was not an eligibility factor.)
• I was asked to pay Rs 20,000/ (Twenty Thousand Rupees) immediately for blocking the seat. Note, this was before the child answers the test. The reasoning was usual - many have applied and we have only xx seats available. ( Do Not Ever Fall for this Crap.)

Since I had studied the ICSE syllabus, I was a bit skeptical about the CBSE pattern of education. I asked around and checked the books. I liked the methodology. I also learnt about schools that do not really have formal affiliation to CBSE blatantly advertising as "Affiliated to CBSE Board". 

To check the authenticity of the claims of this particular school, I checked ( in November, 2011) the CBSE website. I did not find this school listed in their online directory. ( I checked today and it was there. the school did get the affiliation.) I wrote to the CBSE for suggestion and answers. I did not receive any answers but the school contacted me immediately and clarified that the NOC was under process and they also offered to return the admission form fee. Here is the excerpt of my mail to CBSE.

Good Day!

I am writing to enquire whether:

• CBSE controls false claim in advertisement. I had visited Sri xxxxxxxx Techno School (xxxxxxxxxxxx, Marathahalli, Bangalore -37.) on 20th November after seeing a 4 page advertisement on Sunday Times of India, dated 20th November. I was told by the Principal, Ms Rupa (080 64552082) that the school has received the NOC from the CBSE board.
• An Indian nationals can verify the authenticity of the affiliation status: I requested for the registration number or the NOC code from the Principal to verify the status of the school in the CBSE website. I was told that the these couldn't be divulged and that the matter is confidential.
• I am eligible to receive a response to my email from the CBSE office: I called the Regional Officer I/c:R Sundaram (http://cbse.nic.in/contact.htm) to verify the authenticity. He told me that I should check this on the website. I had also sent an email.
• I am eligible to get a written communication: I then called the office of the Chairperson and spoke to Mr. SukhDayal. He checked and told me that this school has not received the NOC.

Why I am concerned:

•  I have recently shifted to Bangalore from Pune. Getting school admission for my Class VIII (ICSE) daughter proved to be a herculean task. The fees are stupendously high.
• This particular school advertised that they would admit students from any board. Their curriculum attracted me. Primarily because, this school promised to take care of all the academic lackings and my child would not require to take extra private tution for the subject that she is not very conversant with. I paid Rs 300/ for the admission form. I would require to pay Rs. 20,000/ non refundable deposit to book the seat in case is selected. These are big money. The tution fee, I was told is 70,000/ pa and would increase by 10% every year.
• The reason, I took pain in contacting the CBSE and writing to you is, I am tired of running around for my daughter's admission. I wanted a school that would recognize her talents and train her accordingly. Most school do not.
• No schools were willing to take a class VIII student in the middle of the term.

Please let me know what I should do. I realized that good schools are only for the rich and the elite.

I thought I should write to you since I am an Indian and I wish to continue to live in this country and want my daughter to pursue her studies here.

Kind regards,

The reason I went about trying to verify the affiliation claims of the school was, Oashe was in the high school-soon-to-appear-for the 10th board examination. Having read about schools that were de-affiliated, I needed to be sure that the school was not harping false notes.

Clearly, education is a big business. No, I did not select this school. What education would my daughter get from a school that lies and harps false claims!