An advertisement for “mega gathering of India’s leading boarding schools” recently caught the attention of Dr Philipp Ackermann, the German Ambassador to India and Bhutan, thanks to the picture used in the newspaper advertisement. In a post on X, Ackermann noted that the building shown in the advertisement was Bellevue Palace, the official residence of the president of Germany. While highlighting this misleading advertisement, Ackermann wrote, “Dear Indian parents - I found this in today’s newspaper. But this building is no boarding school! It is the seat of the German President in Berlin. Our Rashtrapati Bhavan as it were. There are good boarding schools also in Germany - but here, no child will be admitted 😎.” This post has gathered over 5,000 likes since it was posted on Saturday. Commenting on it, an X user wrote, “This is what happens when event organizers swipe photos off the internet without even knowing the background. And they want to help you educate your children in the best boarding schools! Please be wary of such swindlers. Thanks to the German Ambassador for pointing this out.” Another person wrote, “Level of fraud in Indian education is beyond imagination. This is a small example with the seat of the German President as the cover pic of Premier Schools Exhibition. Many parents spend more and more believing - 'Expensive education = Good Education'”. This is not the only X post about school advertisements that has gone viral. In July, X user Bhavana (@Bhavana_MA), shared a photo of an advertisement for a kids ‘entrepreneurship programme’ offered by a preschool in Bengaluru. This tweet has sparked a conversation about the need for such programmes for preschool kids who are usually between the ages of three to six.
