TIRUNELVELI: Collector Shilpa Prabhakar Satish ordered the Chief Education Officer, Tirunelveli, to inquire into an incident wherein the father of a class I RTE Act beneficiary was served a legal notice by a private school over fees. The notice came in response to a petition by M Pichimuthu, seeking administration’s and school management’s aid in ensuring his ward was not expelled.
The notice served by advocate of the principal of Karivalamvanthanallur-based private school, besides demanding an apology for disinformation by Pichimuthu, advised him to admit his child to a government school if he could afford to pay the fees. The notice, which was accessed by Express also threatened criminal proceedings against the father if he failed to tender an apology.
The notice says that Pichimuthu must shell out money for books and examinations, apart from footing bill for sundry expenses like uniform. Earlier, Pichimuthu, a 40-year-old job seeker, had petitioned Collector Shilpa Prabhakar Satish, seeking action against the school.
Pichimuthu said he admitted his daughter to LKG in 2017 under. “Though my daughter’s admission was to a free seat, I was forced to pay some money for her kindergarten education under various heads. Meanwhile, to admit my daughter to Class I, the authorities told me to pay around `4,800. When I asked for a certificate with the fee break-up, they refused. Then, I wrote a letter to the school management as the principal refused to meet me,” he said.
The principal told Express that they had sought fees for books and examination. “Since we have to purchase books from State government, we asked Pichimuthu to pay for it. The government only reimburses tuition fee to us. Parents should arrange for commutation of their wards or else should pay for their transportation to the school. Since Pichimuthu urged the parents of other RTE Act beneficiaries to not pay fees, we sent a notice to him. However, we did not torture his child for his not paying up the fee,” he added.