Kara 4 Kids
Head office - 6, 4th main, 6th cross, Jayamahal extn.,, Bangalore
+91-9844145454
www.kara.in | info@kara.in
Board: Pre-school
+91-9844145454
www.kara.in | info@kara.in
Board: Pre-school
| Details |
Founded in 2006, Kara provides a range of options to parents and children by providing a variety of programmes for children aged 6 months to 6 years - Infant and toddler care, kinder garten, extra curricular classes, holiday camps and workshops. Kara's branches in Bangalore are located in Jayamahal Extension, RMV 2nd Stage (Sanjay Nagar) and HSR Layout. There are a couple of branches in Gurgaon, Delhi too. The address mentioned above is of the head office. Check Kara's website for the contact details of the individual branches Kara was founded by Katherine Rustumji. Earlier, she had worked as the founder/director of Gintara and Project Co-ordinator - Planning and Development at Mallya Aditi International school For further details about Kara, please check the school's website which is good and provides lots of information. |
| Activities |
And lots more... Contact the nearest centre for further details or call +91 98441 45454. |
| Fee Structure |
For full details on Kara's extensive range of flexible programmes please visit Kara's website at www.kara.in. |
| School Timing |
Kindergarten
Kindertots:
Office Hours: Monday to Friday - 8.30 am to 6.00 pm, Saturday - 9.00 am to 12.00 pm
|
Comments
Dear parents,
Please read the news from the following links. You may have to copy and paste it in your browser. Now if the management feels even the Consumer forum is wrong then I have nothing more to say. Kara's technique is to tell the court they haven't received the court notice quoting postal error etc. but the law has caught up with them.
These are actual news articles by reputed news agencies.
Cheers
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/16115/consumer-forum-aids-autistic-c...
http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=B%E2%80%99lore+playschool+pays+for+outrageous+TC+demand&artid=67|QFq/LTnE=&SectionID=Qz/kHVp9tEs=&MainSectionID=Qz/kHVp9tEs=&SEO=&SectionName=UOaHCPTTmuP3XGzZRCAUTQ==
Dear Readers,
As Ghandiji philosophised "truth shall set us free" - perhaps therefore the following may be of interest to those curious for the facts . . .
It is true that a lady by name Mrs. Swathi Bakshi had filed a consumer case against Kara alleging deficiency of service and asking for a refund of the amounts paid by her on the grounds that the child was with Kara for 9 days only, even though she had signed the Application Form with full knowledge that such amounts once paid are non-refundable as per the terms governing admission of children to schools run by Kara. Mrs Bakshi claimed that they had been transferred at short notice which we have reason to believe is not true.
This is a pretty standard policy with most schools and the reason for this practice is because good schools adhere to a strict child:staff ratio, in our case as laid down by the international bodies to which Kara belongs. Hitherto it has been the practice of many parents to put their child’s name down with several schools and then finally decide upon one at the last minute. This makes any advanced planning impossible as staff have to be recruited and trained much in advance, based upon the numbers expected who have paid the Fees.
Unfortunately the notice of the Court asking us to be represented in court on a particular day was not received by Kara, for reasons which we are still investigating. As a consequence the Hon'ble Consumer Forum passed an order ex-parte - that is without any representation from Kara - asking Kara to refund certain sums. As Kara was not even aware of the said consumer case, they were totally unaware of the judgement passed by the Hon'ble Consumer Forum. Subsequently, Mrs. Swathi filed an Execution Petition seeking execution of the order passed by the Hon'ble Consumer Forum.
In the said Execution Petition, the Hon'ble Consumer Forum issued a warrant to a Manager of Kara (nothing to do with me personally), as is the normal practice in such situations, stating that an Officer of Kara should be present in court on a particular date. It was only when we saw the warrant did we come to know of the consumer case filed by Mrs. Bakshi.
Our Advocate immediately approached the Hon'ble Consumer Forum and filed an application to recall the warrant issued by the said Forum on 25th May 2009. A copy of the said application was served upon Mrs. Bakshi before filing it before the Hon'ble Consumer Forum. The Hon'ble Consumer Forum, appreciating the situation was pleased to recall the warrant on 25th May 2009 itself, and I would like to state categorically that as of date there is no arrest warrant pending against me or any employee or director of Kara, notwithstanding anything stated by Mrs Bakshi to the contrary on various blogs which are clearly malign and completely untrue.
The current status is that we have filed an Appeal before the Hon'ble State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission and have obtained a Stay on the Execution Petition filed by Mrs. Bakshi. Mrs. Bakshi is totally aware of the said Stay Order granted by the Appellate Commission as an intimation regarding the Stay was filed by us before the Hon'ble Consumer Forum.
Notice the basic nature of the “dispute”, refund of Fees on the grounds that the child was with Kara for a very short period. Simple and straight forward. Yet Mrs Bakshi has chosen to use this dispute for character-assassination of both Kara and myself.
As regards alleged Deficiency of Service, rather ironic as Mr Bakshi’s mail to Kara of the 28th June 2007, after their child had been withdrawn, states the following:
”. . . our aim to send Simran to Kara was to ensure that she receives the best available pre-school education, even with our limited income. I also must share with you that we, as parents, were rather delighted to see Simran returning happy and cheerful from school every day and looking forward to the next day at school.“.
In other words the Bakshi’s were very pleased with their experience of Kara in the 9 days, but when we refused to return their money, Mrs Bakshi has chosen to convert it into an ugly “personal” fight.
Consumer Forums are generaly speaking very favourably disposed to “consumers” and it is conceivable that Mrs Bakshi may still obtain a Refund Order, which we shall Appeal, but that is nothing to do with the nature and quality of services provided by Kara; we constantly receive letters of appreciation from Parent’s whose children we have helped . . . in fact that is what keeps us going!
We have made every effort to be conciliatory and to keep the peace and have tried to remain dignified in the face of all these onslaughts. This has been taken as a sign of weakness by Mrs Bakshi who has gone ahead and made even more inflammatory and untrue statements. As a consequence we have initiated legal action against her and the Host website(s), both in the Civil and Criminal Courts for publishing / allowing statements to be published, which they knew were palpably untrue on the date they were put on the website, designed to malign us and lower Kara’s reputation. We are also asking for a Public Apology.
As per the law, malign Defamation is a criminal activity for which a person can get up to 2 years simple imprisonment with fine and / or both. Much as we wish to avoid such action, sadly Mrs Bakshi and the Host website(s) have left us with no alternative in the interests of Kara’s reputation which is very dear to us as well as all parents of Kara children.
So Parents, please think about the above and join Kara in the Fight against untruth against ANY organisation. And remember, something does not become 'true' by simply repeating it ad nauseum . . .
Warm regards.
Katherine
Katherine Rustumji
CEO
Kara Learning Private Limited
Mobile: +91 9880 414141
Email: katherine@kara.in
Web: www.kara.in
Hello Katherine,
Kudos on coming out and explaining your side of the story in a rational manner and for participating in the broader conversation.
I was on the look out for a school for my kid (from early next year) - and the manner in which you have conducted yourself (in the context of this conversation at least on this website) has definitely made an impression on me.
Do keep the community here posted on the developments. Good luck!!!
Truth shall set you free indeed!!
Desikan
It appears that the school and it's management is on a face saving exercise. Please note that in Bakshi's case well as the case of the child with autism the consumer forum has given a verdict against the school and the school's management appears to say that consumer's forum's judgment is incorrect. Parents please also read about kara's misdemeanor in various other websites too before you make your choice.
Regards
All parents are advised to strictly refrain from admitting their children to this set up called Kara4kids. They are a bunch of unprofessional people with a sole aim of making money and child care is the least of their business.
There are a number of cases against Kara4kids and Katherine in various consumer forums in Bangalore. I know of two cases where the parents have won the case.
I was told a non-bailable arrest warrant is also issued against Ms. Katherine for defying court orders. So please stay away from Kare Learning Private Limited.
If you are a parent, you should explore other schools. If you are not one, you do not value the services of Kara. I think parents are intelligent to make their own choices. Give information not vent to your frustrations.
The Kara team is comprised of people who are certainly very professional but more importantly who share a caring & loving attitude towards children......they do not consider it a chore & a job to be gotten over with.
I am a Kara parent. I pay the fees. I think they are an absolute value for money. I am pained to see the thoughtless maligning that is happenning here. Kara is within its rights to charge to fees they deem appropriate for their services. Assess the value for yourself. If you do not share Karas standard of child care, head for a place that offers you what you are looking for.
All you parents who want a genuine feedback, I would urge you to please refer to past & current Kara parents. You can write to me on archana.lif@gmail.com. I am a past & a current parent. Please look for genuine sources of information.
All I can say is that Kara is doing a great job of bringing standards to child care. Something that is unheard of in most pre-schools or even schools.
Dear fellow Kara JML parents,
Someone seems to have stolen my identity! Pls note the above entry was not written by me and it is complete nonsense. Have spoken directly to Katherine and have got the facts. Aru thank you for bringing this to my attention.
Hugs,
Sonia
PL DON'T CALL THIS A PLAY SCHOOL. THIS COMPANY'S SOLE AIM IS MAKING MONEY. NEITHER KATHERINE OR HER STAFF ARE QUALIFIED TO RUN A SCHOOL LIKE THIS. JUST CHECK OUT THE COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE SCHOOL IN VARIOUS FORUMS ON THE NET. THEY HAVE ALREADY LOST TWO CASES IN THE COURT FOR CHEATING PARENTS. PARENTS PLEASE BE WARNED FROM THIS MONEY MINDED BRITISH LADY AND HER HUSBAND RUSTUMJI. BOTH ARE SOPHISTICATED CHEATS. REGARDS