Student’s death: Minister says Kochi school has not yet submitted NOC

Minister for General Education V. Sivankutty said on Monday that the Global Public School at Thiruvaniyoor here, which had come under the lens in the wake of death of a 15-year-old following allegations of ragging, has not yet submitted the no objection certificate (NOC) issued by the Department of General Education to operate in the State.

Director of General Education (DGE) Shanavas S., who had conducted a sitting in Kochi on February 3 as part of the department probe, had asked the school authorities to submit the NOC. They have not yet submitted the certificate for running the school as per the Cambridge international syllabus, he said in a communication.

School’s denial

The issue had snowballed into a controversy after the parents had lodged a police complaint alleging that ragging at school had led their son to take the extreme step. The Minister said that the school authorities had denied the allegations raised by the parents at the sitting convened by the DGE in Kochi. He said that another parent had informed the department that his child was also subjected to ragging on the campus. As the school authorities rejected their complaint, they admitted him in another school after obtaining the transfer certificate, he said.

Follow-up measures

Though the school is not under the Department of General Education as it is affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education, it requires the NOC of the department to operate. The department has stepped up the follow-up measures based on the report to be submitted by the DGE, he said.