In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires
(1) 'academic year' means the year beginning on such date as the State Government or the prescribed authority may, by notification, specify with respect to any specified area or with respect to any educational institution or class of educational institutions;
(2) 'adult education' means the education or further education of a person of not less than fifteen years of age who has not attended any educational institution at any time before, or, as the case may be, who is a dropout from an educational institution at any level of his studies therein;
(3) 'approved school' means any school in any specified area imparting primary education which,-
(a) is under the management of the State Government or a local authority; or
(b) being under any other management, is recognised by the State Government or by an officer authorised by the State Government in this behalf or by a school board as approved school for the purposes of this Act;
(4) "attendance authority" means any person having the prescribed qualification appointed to be an attendance authority under section 13;
(5) "backward classes" means any socially and educationally backward classes of citizens recognised by the Government for purposes as the case may be, of clause (4) of Article 15 or clause (4) of article 16 of the Constitution of India;
(6) 'child' means a boy or girl within such age group not being less than six years or more than fourteen years at the beginning of the academic year as the State Government may specify for the purposes of this Act either generally or with respect to any specified area;
(7) 'competent authority' means any person, officer or authority authorised by the State Government, by notification, to perform the functions and discharge the duties of the competent authority under all or any of the provisions of this Act for such area or for such purposes or for such classes of institutions as may be specified in the notification;
(8) "commerce education" means education in typewriting, shorthand, Book-keeping and accountancy, commerce, office practice and procedure, salesmanship and marketing, banking practice, insurance practice and such other subjects as may be notified by the State Government;
(9) "commerce institution" means any institution imparting commerce education and presenting students for examinations conducted by the Karnataka Secondary Education Examination Board;
(10) "district" means revenue district;
(11) "District Education Officer" means an Officer appointed as such to be incharge of the administration of the primary education in a district or part of a district;
(12) "Director for Compulsory Primary Education" means the Commissioner of Public Instruction in Karnataka or any other officer discharging the functions and exercising the powers of Director for Public Instruction (Primary Education);
(13) 'educational agency' in relation to a private educational institution, means any person or body of persons which has established and is administering or proposes to establish and administer or is entrusted with the establishment, management, administration and maintenance of such private educational institution;
(14) "educational institution" means any institution imparting education referred to in section 3 and includes a private educational institution but does not include an institution under the direct management of the University or of the Central Government or a tutorial institution;
(15) "employee" means a person employed in an educational institution;
(16) "general education" means every branch of education other than religious, professional, medical, technical or special education;
(17) "Governing Council" means any person or body of persons permitted or deemed to be permitted under this Act to establish or maintain a private educational institution; or commence institution or tutorial institution and includes the governing body, by whatever name called, to which the affairs of the said educational institution are entrusted;
(18) "grant" or "grant-in-aid" means any sum of money paid as aid out of the State funds to any educational institution;
(19) "Managing Committee" means the individual or the body of individuals entrusted or charged with the management and administration of a private educational institution and where a society, trust, or an association manages more than one such institution, includes the managing committee of each such institution;
(20) "medical education" includes education in modern scientific medicine, in all its branches, Ayurvedic system of medicine, Unani system of medicine, integrated system of medicine, Indigenous medicine, Naturopathy, Siddha or Homoeopathy;
(21) "minority educational institution" means a private educational institution of its choice established and administered by a minority whether based on religion or language, having the right to do so under clause (1) of Article 30 of the Constitution of India;
(22) "non-formal Education" means the education, of a person upto fifteen years of age who has not attended any educational institution at any time before or as the case may be, who is a drop out from an educational institution at any level of his studies therein to enable him to enter the formal educational system at an appropriate level;
(23) "parent" in relation to a child includes a guardian and every person who has the lawful custody of the child;
(24) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
(25) "primary education" means education in and upto such classes and standards as are prescribed under this Act;
(26) "primary school" means a school or part of such school in which primary education upto any standard is imparted;
(27) "private educational institution" means any educational institution imparting education referred to in section 3, established and administered or maintained by any person or body of persons, but does not include an educational institution,-
(a) established and administered or maintained by the Central Government or the State Government or any local authority or any other authority designated or sponsored by the Central Government or the State Government;
(b) established and administered by any University established by law;
(c) giving, providing or imparting only religious instruction, but not any other instruction; or
(d) imparting instruction for which there is no approved syllabi or course of studies or Government or University Examination;
(28) "private tuition" means instruction or teaching given by an employee of a recognised educational institution outside its premises to students;
1[(28A) 'Public interest' includes public order, public health, public morality and other similar purposes;]
(29) "ragging" means causing, inducing, compelling or forcing a student, whether by way of a practical joke or otherwise, to do any act which detracts from human dignity or violates his person or exposes him to ridicule or to forbear from doing any lawful act, by intimidating., wrongfully restraining, wrongfully confining, or injuring him or by using criminal force to him or by holding out to him any threat of such intimidation, wrongful restraint, wrongful confinement, injury or the use of criminal force;
(30) "recognised educational institution" means an educational institution recognised under this Act and includes one deemed to be recognised thereunder;
(31) "registering authority' means any person, officer or authority authorised by the State Government by notification, to perform the functions and discharge the duties of the registering authority under all or any of the provisions of this Act for such area or for such purposes or for such classes of institutions as may be specified in the notification;
(32) "secondary education" means education in and upto such class or standard as may be prescribed;
(33) "secretary" in relation to a private educational institution means the person, by whatever name called, who under the rules or regulations of the private educational institution is a chief executive entrusted with the management of the affairs of the institution;
(34) "society" includes a society registered under the Karnataka Societies Registration Act, 1960 (Karnataka Act 17 of 1960), or Karnataka Co-operative Societies Act, 1959 or a trust registered under the Bombay Public Trust Act, 1950, or any association of individuals registered under any other law for the time being in force;
(35) "special education" means education for the handicapped, education in music, dance, drama, fine arts, physical education including sports and games and such other types of education as the State Government may by notification, in that behalf specify;
(36) "specified area" means any area in which primary education is notified by the State Government to be compulsory under section 11;
(37) "technical education" means any course of study in Engineering, Technology, Architecture, Ceramics, Industrial Training, Mining, or in any other subject, as the State Government may, by notification, specify;
(38) "tribunal" means the Educational Appellate Tribunal constituted under section 96;
(39) "tutorial institution" means an unrecognised institution established or run by not less than two persons for systematically imparting education or instruction to twenty or more persons in any subject with a view to prepare them to appear for an examination in any branch of education conducted or recognised by the State Government or the Universities in the State or any body or authority under this Act or any other law for the time being in force.
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1. Inserted by Act 8 of 1998 w.e.f. 11-4-1998.