FIR against private school in Hazaribag for operating without UDISE; School admits lapses amid legal action

Hazaribag: The district education department is in the process of lodging an FIR against a private school in Katkamdag block for allegedly running without the mandatory UDISE code.The school is located to Pundri More on the Hazaribag-Barkagaon Road. The move is in the wake of a preliminary inquiry by the block education extension officer Nageshwar Singh based on a complaint against the school, officials said on Thursday.District superintendent of education (DSE) Akash Kumar conducted a spot inspection on Tuesday after Singh’s report. The inquiry report was found to be prima facie correct, prompting Kumar to now order legal action, sources in the district administration claimed.

According to officials, the school management submitted a written explanation admitting about running the school without UDISE. Notably, the govt has made it mandatory for all schools — govt, govt-aided and private — to register and update their data on the Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE+) portal, to bring transparency, accountability and efficiency in the education sector.The UDISE+ is a comprehensive digital database under the Union Ministry of Education to collect real-time information on schools across the country.

Govt has made it mandatory to obtain a UDISE number for schools before the start of its operations.The SS Public School lacked UDISE but was running for the last two years. It is also accused of wooing students from an upgraded govt school in Karare village of Katkamdag, through false promises of free books, uniform and transportation.BEEO Nageshwar Singh on the other hand said that the school management has admitted certain lapses, stating that the school earlier operated in a different location in the Barkagaon area between 2011 and 2022 with U-DISE code 20040301503. After cancellation of registration in 2022, the school was allegedly shifted to Pundari More in Katkamdag and continued operations under the same code.At present, around 200 students are enrolled. Singh said, “An FIR is will be registered soon against those responsible.”TOI tried to contact the school director and principal but they did not respond.