Irregularities found at Seventh Day School in Ahmedabad, DEO report recommends administrative action

The Seventh Day Adventist School in east Ahmedabad which resumed regular classes a month ago, after the murder of a Class 10 student led to its closure, seems to be in trouble again. An  inquiry committee report under the RTE Act has revealed several irregularities in the school’s functioning.

The District Education Officer (DEO) has submitted the report to the state government, recommending that necessary administrative action be taken in the interest of nearly 10,000 students, including the possibility of transferring the school’s management to another trust.

According to the DEO’s report submitted to the Director of Primary Education and the Gujarat Board, the school failed to provide necessary and missing documents required for verification.

The report notes that, based on the records available, irregularities and violations of norms have been observed in the school’s operations and recognition.

The DEO found discrepancies in documents submitted by the school. The land on which the school currently operates was leased by the AMC for 99 years in 2003 to The India Financial Association of Seventh Day Adventists. However, in the minority certificate of the higher secondary section, the managing body is listed as Council of Adventist Educational Institute.

The report further mentions that, while the school referred to multiple trusts — including Ashlok Education Society and The Council of Seventh Day Adventist Educational Institute — it failed to clarify which trust is actually managing the school.

The school also did not produce the minority status certificate for the primary section, and no approval documents were presented for class expansions. The DEO noted that the school originally obtained permission for Classes 1–2 at a different location in Maninagar (East) in 1981 and later received approvals for higher classes in 1983, but no supporting records for subsequent expansions were submitted.

The report also highlights that—

• The school is operating from a location different from where the original permissions were granted.
• Book sales on the campus violate the Fee Regulation Act.
• Running two shifts requires prior approval and separate staff and record maintenance, but no such documents were provided.
• The lessee and managing institution are different entities, violating lease conditions.
• The school submitted building plans showing only two structures, whereas three buildings exist on the campus.
• BU permission was provided only for the ‘B Block’; the current construction lacks building-use approval.
• In its affidavit to obtain recognition for Classes 11–12 (Science stream) under the Gujarat Board, the school claimed no other institution was operating on the premises, though an ICSE school from Class 1–12 was already running.
• The campus also houses two colleges — Business Studies and BSc, for which the school presented an NOC from the ICSE Board for 2025–26, but failed to provide an NOC from the Gujarat Board.

Based on these findings, the DEO concluded that the school’s operations show clear administrative irregularities and violations of educational norms, warranting government intervention to safeguard students’ interests.