No NOC needed for CBSE schools once every 3 years in TN, if BJP comes to power in 2021

The schools in Tamil Nadu affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education will no longer need to get a No Objection Certificate from the state government once every three years, the Bharatiya Janata Party said in its 2021 election manifesto for the upcoming Tamil Nadu assembly elections.

In January 2017, the central board had brought back the No Objection Certificate requirement for schools to apply for CBSE affiliation. A NOC means a letter issued by the "Education Department of the State/Union Territory in respect of a school situated in the State/Union Territory, certifying the State/UT has No Objection for affiliation of the school to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) or for any other board." Earlier, the procedure would include applying for NOC at https://www.tn.gov.in. The school had to fill the form and submit it to District Educational Office and at the state education secretariat.

Earlier in 2013, CBSE had removed the no-objection certificate (NOC) from the State government regulation for schools across the country. According to a CBSE circular, dated July 8, 2013, "A school seeking provisional affiliation with the Board must have formal prior recognition of the State/U.T. government and also produce evidence to this effect that the applicant school had intimated the education department of the State about the application made to CBSE seeking affiliation with the Board." However, the regulation was brought back in 2017 and the process has been called complex and time-consuming.

Now, the BJP has promised to remove the regulation if they come to power in the state. The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday released its manifesto for the Tamil Nadu Assembly election. It seeks to lay out the party's plan which it will put in place if it comes to power. The saffron party's manifesto was officially unveiled by Nitin Gadkari, Minister for Road, Transport and Highways in the presence of Tamil Nadu BJP State President Dr L Murugan and VK Singh, Minister for Defence among several other leaders of the party. The BJP has allied with the ruling AIADMK in Tamil Nadu and will contest in 20 Assembly constituencies. The election manifesto committee of the party included H Raja, Sasikala Pushpa, K Annamalai, VP Duraisamy, M Nachiappan and others.