BENGALURU: When they left their houses on Monday morning as usual, little did these Class 10 students of Presidency School in South Bengaluru knew what the hours ahead would unravel. The school, following a months-long stand-off with a group of parents, forced many students to wait outside the gates in the scorching heat, while others were not allowed to board the school buses and some were made to wait in the library until their parents came to pick them up.
The furious parents called it an arm-twisting tactic on the school’s part to make them agree upon paying the increased fee amount. They said the school management sent a letter dated March 28, asking them to pay the pending fee, failing which the test result of their wards would be withheld and the child’s admission would be discontinued. “The bus did not pick up my daughter this morning and we were not even aware that they were planning to discontinue the service. I dropped her myself but she was not allowed to go inside,” said Syed, father of a 10th standard student.
“In August, they hiked the transport fee by 40 per cent even though the academic year started in June. We refused to pay the increased fee in the middle of the term and complained to Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (KSCPCR), which asked the school to maintain status quo until the next hearing. Despite that, they are withholding the test results of different grades and not allowing Class 10 students to take their unit test on Monday,” Shwetha (name changed on request), a mother, said, adding that while some parents withheld paying the transport fee, others chose not to pay the tuition fee as well until further clarity was received regarding the fee structure.
Reena, another parent, said she was asked to pick up her child from the library over the issue. Several others told CE that the children were singled out in front of other kids, or removed from school activity groups. A few parents of kindergarten students said their exam results were also withheld.
The school principal, J Bhuvaneswari, denied the charges of mentally harassment of students. “Some parents have not paid the tuition and transport fee for the whole year, or for two terms. How can we run the school? We have let them use all the facilities. We sent repeated reminders for fee payment but they didn’t do so.”
Bhuvaneswari added that the transport fee was raised when diesel prices increased. “Later, when the prices reduced, we decreased the fee by 10-12 per cent and refunded the money,” she said. Headmistress Rajashree Chaudhari said the school had replied to the commission, stating that no child was mentally harassed. “The commission does not have the legal authority or jurisdiction to issue orders regarding the transport fee hike,” she added.
KSCPCR chairperson Antony Sebastian told CE that the school doesn’t have the authority to make the students stand outside the premises. “The commission steps in when there is a case of child rights violation, and has the power to issue orders on fee while the hearings are going on. We have asked the block education officer to investigate the matter and are awaiting the report. The commission has the power to recommend to the education department about future action to be taken,” he said.