Officials in dock for recognition to schools

Chennai: Officials from the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption have started a probe into allegations that corruption and malpractices existed in various government departments in granting recognition to private schools without sufficient space, buildings and other minimum requirements to conduct school, after Madurai bench of the Madras High Court ordered a probe into it based on a petition.

The court had ordered the probe based on a petition by one Manohar Jayakumar, chairman of the All India Private Schools Legal Protection Society.

The petitioner had cited that recognition was temporarily accorded to Vailiammal Matriculation School, Tirunelveli, on May 31, 2016, and subsequently renewed up to 2019-2020, though it did not have building and other amenities, and is functioning from a residential building.

The court issued the order to register a case under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act against unnamed public servants for issuing licence for a residential building and NOC from the departments concerned. The officials under the scanner include tahsildar from Revenue Department, jurisdictional station officer from Fire and Rescue Services Department and the Health Department official who issued sanitary