Lucknow's City Montessori School example of everything that's wrong with private schools

By Sandeep Pandey*

The City Montessori School of Lucknow figures in the Guinness Book of World Records for largest enrollment of 55,000 in a school, although it is not one school but has 18 different branches spread throughout the city. Its founder Jagdish Gandhi has won UNESCO Prize for Peace Education for promoting the universal values of education for peace and tolerance. He also preaches on TV channels.

The school organises many national and international level events including an assembly of mostly retired judges from across the world to promote the idea of World Government. Its academic performance is good in classes X and XII Board examinations as it weeds out the weaker students at Class VIII stage and shifts them to other schools. CMS is an example of possibly every kind of violation of norms that are required to be fulfilled for running private schools.
By not admitting 18, 55 and 296 children belonging to disadvantaged groups and weaker sections under section 12(1)(c) of the Right to Education Act 2009 respectively in 2015-16, 2016-17 and 2017-18 for free education from classes I to VIIIJagdish Gandhi has betrayed his anti-poor or anti-humanitarian character.
The Indira Nagar branch of CMS doesn’t have the required No Objection Certificate from Education Department and Certificate of Land from Revenue Department to obtain affiliation with the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations but has still somehow managed to obtain the ICSE affiliation. Legal notice has been served to CISCE.
This branch has been built without approval of design of building, without permission on a residential land, a demolition order against which is pending for the last 21 years. One of the three plots on which school is run belongs to R.B. Pathak, retired IAS officer, whose house was demolished to build a four storey school building without his permission. The school claims 600 as strength when obtaining the Fire Department NOC, 1,100 on its website and 1,731 in court of law when obtaining stay against demolition.
Only a few of its 18 branches have NOC from Fire Department, a mandatory requirement, remaining functioning without it.
The Gomti Nagar Extension branch of CMS, its latest, also has a case against illegal construction pending in Lucknow Development Authority.
The Jopling Road branch runs from a property belonging to a Bisen family. In 1982 Late VNS Singh Bisen gave the building on a monthly rent to CMS. Before his demise in 1992 he had already initiated a legal case for eviction of CMS after serving a notice to it terminating the rental agreement. Eldest son of family Dr. Sunil Bisen, a Neurosurgeon, is still fighting the legal battle in District Court.

In 2015 High Court issued a directive for early disposal of case within a year and half. It is more than a year since that period expired.A court appointed official has declared the building unsafe but District Magistrate’s office gave permission to Jagdish Gandhi last year to carry out repairs without informing Dr.Bisen.

In 1982 monthly fees at school was Rs. 50. Today it has increased by hundred times. In the same time period the rent has increased from Rs. 4,000 to Rs. 5,200, which is deposited in court now. Bisen family is deprived of its property as well as an appropriate rent for over three decades now. It is unclear on what kind of land certificate the Basic Education Officer has accorded recognition to this branch?
The most outrageous revelation is from Chowk branch of CMS. Its Principal for close to 35 years, Sadhna Choodamani, who adopted her husband’s surname Bedi after marriage, has issued receipts on letterhead of CMSof large amounts against loans, from parents and former students, taken by school on interest rates upward of 12%.

RiteshAgarwal says his father had been giving loan to school since 1992-93 when he studied in class II at this branch. Total deposits of his family to date are Rs. 61 lakhs. Rajesh Agarwal’s family has given loans totalling to Rs. 25 lakhs, Vibhor Baijal’s family 9 lakhs and NC Rastogi 7 lakhs. Including the teachers who can’t speak for fear of losing job, the total amount collected by school is estimated to be in the range of Rs. 25-40 crores.

Sadhna Bedi was expelled from school on 29 June, 2017 on charges of financial bungling and now Jagdish Gandhi says that since Bedi took away all the money people should file a case against her. The school submitted a complaint to Director General of Police but never registered a FIR against SadhnaBedi for misuse of its letterhead. People who are familiar with the functioning of CMS know that even a small decision of giving concession in fees to any student or which caterer will serve tea or meals in any programme is taken by Jagdish Gandhi himself.

How is it possible that receipts of lakhs of rupees were being issued by the Principal on official letterhead without his knowledge? Jagdish Gandhi is probably part of the scam but has schemed to make Sadhna Bedi a scapegoat. He has most likely struck a deal with Sadhna and her husband Amarjot Singh Bedi, Principal of prestigious Colvin Tallukedar’s College of city, that in exchange for Sadhna accepting the blame he’ll provide legal help to her. But according to law of contract it is the responsibility of Jagdish Gandhi for all the money involved in this scam and CMS will have to repay all the lenders.

CMS was running a bank from its Chowk branch premises without any permission from RBI. It’ll also attract charge of income tax evasion.
It appears that Jagdish Gandhi has mastered the art of encroaching upon land belonging to others, building illegally without permission or various NOCs, obtaining dubious recognition/affiliation and running schools with mercenary objective. It is only a matter of conjecture of what kind of values children would be imbibing from this school?
When finally action would be takenagainst the illegal operations of CMS, which is extremely difficult as Jagdish Gandhi is known to extend favour by offering concession in fees to children of all influential people - officials, people’s representatives, judges and journalists - or hire ladies in their families as teachers, and the school will be shut down it would jeopardise the future of a large number of students.

---
Source: People's Media Advocacy & Resource Centre (PMARC)

Comments

vasanthanju said…

Most Montessori classrooms are secular in nature, although the Montessori educational method can be integrated successfully into a faith-based program. Montessori schools in Vellore

March 18, 2019

selva_kumar said…

Thanks for this information. The concept of a play school has nothing to do with academics at all.
Kidscastle School Vellore

October 10, 2019

sandy said…

Thanks for this blog. Schools have the power of molding a child into a good, hardworking and socially responsible person.
Top schools in Vellore

November 01, 2019

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

World Bank proved right, Narmada is already a destructive project: Medha Patkar

By Rajiv Shah Narmada Bachao Andolan leader Medha Patkar has said that the World Bank’s independent review mission, which brought out the Morse Commission report , has been proved right: The Sardar Sarovar dam has not only failed to live up to the loud promises made for irrigating large arid areas of Saurashtra and Kutch in Gujarat, those who were displaced and resettled in Gujarat are getting increasingly restive as many of them are unable to get the promised water for irrigation and some for drinking water too. While 50,000 families have been resettled in three states and 20,000 have received land rights as land or cash, the authorities have not calculated what should be done with 15,000 families, whose houses are acquired for Sardar Sarovar but following changing backwater levels of the Sardar Sarovar dam, they are denied rehabilitation, Patkar tells Counterview in an interview (part1*): *** Q: What is the latest position in your view as far as the Sardar Sarovar dam is concerned?

Upholding labour rights, Nehruvian scientific temper, Rajni Patel opposed Emergency

By Harsh Thakor* Rajni Patel, who died 40 years ago, whatever his flaws, had one great quality: his human touch to offer selfless service and ability to galvanise or influence human beings from all walks of life. Few people would ever go out of the way to help someone or serve as selflessly without aim of personal gain. Rajni championed Nehruvian secular ideas and scientific temper. As a master in public relations he revealed utmost humility. As a barrister, he never appeared against the trade unions or workers. A Fabien Socialist he opposed liberal capitalism and radical socialism. Unlike most lawyers, he did not succumb to the lure of amassing wealth. Rajni was born in Sirsa, in Gujarat, on the very day Gandhi set foot on Indian soil, on 9th January, 1915. He gained his baptism through one of Gandhi's speeches calling for the boycott of foreign goods, which was the virtual turning point of his life. Rajni toed Gandhi to organise boycott of foreign goods. Rajni was able to cros

Vadodara violence: Fine Arts Faculty alumni raise fingers at Varsity's political appointee

Hasmukh Vaghela with PM Counterview Desk In a statement, alumni of the Faculty of Fine Arts (FoFA), Maharaja Sayajirao University (MSU), Baroda, Gujarat, referring to the “violence” by right-wing groups for displaying “objectionable” paintings that “hurt religious sentiments” at the one of India’s top fine arts institute May 5, have taken strong exception to “the assault and rustication” of one of the students, and lack of action taken against those who “violated” the institution and committed the act. Floated as an online petition seeking wider support, the FoFA alumni, in their statement, addressed to the vice chancellor, MSU, said, there should be “thorough” investigation in the whole incident and “immediate action” should be taken against syndicate member Hasmukh Vaghela, MSU, who sparked the assault, and “other co-conspirators” for breaching “university code of conduct and unlawful activities committed in broad daylight”. While the alumni statement doesn't say so, Vaghela

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

UK leader cites Indian farmers' struggle one of top global fights against neoliberal order

Counterview Desk Jeremy Corbyn, member of the UK Parliament, former leader of the UK Labour Party and founder of the Peace and Justice Project , in his inaugural speech to the Progressive International’s Summit at the End of the World on May 12, 2022, has said, what is happening across globe suggests that "image of apocalypse -- bombs and raids, oil spills and wildfires, disease and contagion -- is a reality for people across the planet." In an adaptation of his speech, distributed by Globetrotter , Corbyn, however, said, there are fresh examples action, too -- by Indian farmers forcing Prime Minister Narendra Modi to withdraw three neo-liberal laws; by workers, communities and activists against the top giant multinational Amazon's "greed and exploitation"; and by Latin American people's struggle to say "no more to the domination by imperialism, the destruction of their communities and the abuse of their environments." Stating that this is n

Why is NIOH-ICMR 'official' making false claims on silicosis?: Health rights NGO

Counterview Desk In a letter to the Director General, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), New Delhi, Dr Jagdish Parikh, trustee, health rights NGO People’s Training and Research Centre (PTRC), Vadodara, and Jagdish Patel, director, PTRC, have said that the claim being made for the use of biomarker for detection of silicosis raises concern about scientific tenacity of the diagnosis of the deadly occupational disease. The letter also objects to the reported claim by a top health official that it is possible to detect silicosis at the sub-radiological stage. It asks, “What is this subradiological stage of silicosis? We have not heard any such scientific term being used. Again, the report is using a term which is not found in any scientific literature so far. Is this term acceptable by ICMR? Is ICMR thinking of any explanation?” Text : This is with reference to our letter dated November 28, 2021. In our communication we had raised our concern about the scientific tena

Welfare? Govt of India spends just 19% of manual scavengers' rehabilitation budget

By Bharat Dogra* While the Dalit community has been always known for higher levels of poverty as well as social discrimination, even within the Dalits there is a sub-section known for even worse levels of poverty as well as social discrimination. This is the section which was traditionally involved in manual scavenging. The shocking injustice they have suffered from over the years has been widely recognized leading to a ban on manual scavenging. At the same time there is urgent need for the rehabilitation of those engaged in manual scavenging. Hence a self-employment scheme for the rehabilitation of those engaged in manual scavenging was drawn up. The allocations and the expenditure for this scheme for the last eight years are shown in the Table below: Union Budget for Self-Employment Scheme for Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers (in Rs crore) By Budget Estimate we mean the original allocation made when the budget is presented. It is clear from this table that the actual expenditure

This Maoist justified US, western Europe's anti-Soviet stance, even Bhindranwale

By Harsh Thakor* A glaring example of the extent to which those seeking to identify themselves as revolutionaries can go in making odd compromises with those normally considered as “class enemies” in Marxist jargon is late Kondapalli Seetharamiah. Few know that this Maoist organiser two decades ago was so enamoured by the Chinese three worlds theory that he called for a united front with the United States and other western countries against what he considered Soviet social imperialism! This wasn’t the only “compromise” Seetharamiah made during his career as a revolutionary. On Punjab he took a most eclectical stand of supporting Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, thus soft-pedalling the terrorist Khalistani movement. Among his other opportunist alliances, about which few are aware of, include support to the Akalis in Punjab, on one hand, and the NTR Telugu Desam regime in Andhra Pradesh, on the other – all part of his anti-Congress thrust. Also known as KS, this Maoist started his career as

Dalit Hindi professor intimidated, harassed by saffron brigade: 400 activists, academics

Counterview Desk Over 400 academics and activists have expressed alarm at the Lucknow University ‘protests’ on May 10 against Dr Ravi Kant, associate professor of Hindi and a Dalit, stating it is nothing but “intimidation and abuse” over his remarks on the online channel Satya Hindi, which were taken out of context and made viral on social media. “We are even more concerned that such an incident should occur within the confines a university campus, where free speech and expression without fear must ideally be the norm. Violence and intimidation over differences of opinion should never occur in a university”, the statement regrets, asking the authorities at the university and the Uttar Pradesh government to assure him and his family “protection from further harassment or intimidation.” Text: We are a group of academics and activists deeply concerned by the public heckling and intimidation of Dr. Ravi Kant, Associate Professor of Hindi and well known Dalit scholar, on the premises of t

Counterview

Search This Blog