The students of Delhi Public School (DPS) in Ahmedabad (East) on Wednesday held a protest against the cancellation of affiliation by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) following the controversy around running of an ashram in the campus.
The school had leased out land to an ashram run by absconding self-styled godman Nithyananda.
An FIR against the controversial guru was filed last month on the charges of kidnapping and wrongful confinement of children to make them collect donations from followers to run his ashram – Yogini Sarvagyapeetham – in Ahmedabad.
Two sadhvis at the ashram were arrested last month after two children aged 9 to 10 years told the police they were tortured, made to work and kept in illegal confinement at a flat in the city for over ten days.
Nithyananda has fled the country and has reportedly set up his own country on a private island near Ecuador.
The CBSE had written to Directorate of Schools, State Education Department, Gujarat to inquire into the matter of leasing out land of the school to Swami Nithyananda Ashram without permission of the board.
“It has been asked to conduct the inquiry expeditiously and convey the outcome of the report and status of No Objection Certificate issued by the state department to the school for seeking CBSE affiliation,” the board said.
According to latest reports, the Gujarat government has also cancelled the recognition after the Nithyananda Ashram controversy.
The school has been forced to down the shutters after the authorities’ action. Reports said that the school has over 800 students who are faced with uncertainty.
Students and parents have been holding protests against the school and the Gujarat government.
The Hindu reported that a section of parents has approached the High Court contending that the school should not be shut down.
The report said that withdrawal of the school’s affiliation was based on several grounds, including allegedly forging a No Objection Certificate (NOC), leasing the school premises to set up the ashram.
Source: dnaindia.com