ICSE school approval issue: HC dismisses TN govt appeal

Madras High Court bench here today dismissed an appeal filed by Tamil Nadu Government against a single judge's order directing grant of permission for a school, offering ICSE pattern till the 10th standard, to start higher secondary courses under the state board.
A division bench comprising Justice R Sudhakar and Justice V S Velumani held as arbitrary and illegal the government's July 26, 2001 order what stated that no permission shall be granted for starting higher secondary Courses in Indian Council of School Education (ICSE) schools which did not have same syllabus.
The Single Judge had held that the issue had already been decided by several judgements. Petitioner school was entitled to start Plus one and Plus two courses in the school provided it satisfied all other requirements, he had said allowing the petition.

The Education Department Secretary in his appeal said the non-state boards such as as ICSE and CBSE had their own syllabus for senior secondary classes.
The Petitioner school Sruthi Vidhyodhaya school, run by Vijaya Manohara Prabhu Trust, had arbitrarily started admittng students in the school for 2013-14 without getting permission from the government.
If the students were permitted to study under one syllabus upto to certain standard and different syllabus thereafter, it would seriouly prejudice them, he contended.
The students might opt for ICSE and CBSE upto 10th standard and for state board for 11th and 12th. Such a facility should be an option and not compulsion. By having such truncated school syllabus, there would be a compulsion on students, the government argued.