Newspaper ad shows German president house as Indian boarding school; envoy flags error

NEW DELHI: A newspaper advertisement showed Germany’s President House as a boarding school in Delhi, the German ambassador to India pointed out in a social media post. Philipp Ackermann clarified that the image used for showing the building of a boarding school is, actually, the “seat of the German President in Berlin” and stated that students will not be admitted there.

The ad talks about the 20th edition of the boarding school exhibition called “Premier Schools Exhibition” to be conducted from October 1 to October 2, 2023 from 11am to 7pm at Eros Hotel, Nehru Place, New Delhi.

Alerting the parents, Ackermann said in a post on X, “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.”

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 ?. pic.twitter.com/ftbEeJk724

— Dr Philipp Ackermann (@AmbAckermann) September 30, 2023

While the name of the newspaper has not been mentioned, the ad says that the exhibition is being organised by Afairs, a company based in Kolkata which organises education fairs.

According to the advertisement, the parents and students will get the opportunity to interact with over 30 leading boarding schools in India coming from Dehradun, Mussoorie, Ooty, Alwar, Nainital, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Bhopal, Jaipur, Ajmer, Pilani and Delhi NCR.

Moreover, the exhibition will showcase top boarding schools, schools for girls, boys, and co-ed, all boards, full boarding and weekly boarding schools. Parents will get to interact with school heads and get on-spot registration and scholarships along with admission guidance. The admission will start from grade 3 onwards.

Further, the newspaper ad stated that seminars on various topics will be conducted on October 1 and 2. It also listed down the schools participating in the boarding school exhibition.