Rajkot: The state education department officials on Friday, exposed a fake English medium school operating classes from 1 to 10 without board affiliation in Pipaliya village in Rajkot district. It is also learnt that the school had hired its former students, who had only studied up to class 9 or 10, as teachers. The school had been running in four shops for the past seven years.

Vimal Gadhvi, in-charge taluka primary education officer, received a complaint from the Rajkot taluka panchayat president against Gauri English Medium School. After checking their records, the department found that no school by this name existed. “We inspected the premises on Friday and found that it was operating without recognition,” Gadhvi said.

The education officer also stated that the children currently or previously enrolled at this school would be admitted to government or private schools in their area under the Right to Education Act by Monday.

During the inspection, the team questioned the school owner, Katyayani Tiwari, who claimed she was running the classes in makeshift infrastructure while awaiting authorization and recognition. The school charged Rs 450 to Rs 650 in monthly fees.

Gadhvi has filed a complaint with the Kuvdava Police Station to take action against Tiwari and her husband, Manish. A formal FIR will be lodged once more evidence is gathered by the police and education department. DeshGujarat