
KOCHI: Even as questions about what and who is responsible for the extreme step taken by 15-year-old Mihir Ahammed of Global Public School International are still being asked, the latest communique by the school authorities to the parents of the students of the school has raised protests from various quarters.
The letter has allegedly tried to paint the victim in a bad light. The letter is said to have highlighted how Mihir was given TC from Gems Modern Academy after an incident with a girl student and then at GPS International wherein he and a few of his friends got into a fight with another student.
According to the letter, Mihir joined the school after being forced to take a transfer certificate from Gems Modern Academy. “We hear he was issued TC after an incident related to physical assault on a girl student. He sought admission to GPS International.
Being a school which believes in giving a second chance to a student, we decided to give admission to the child, even though it was the middle of the academic year. We took an undertaking from his parents that he would abide by the school rules,” says the letter.
The letter highlights how Mihir was included in every activity in the school. “He was selected to the school basketball team. He was part of the Model United Nations team at school and even presented the school in the event held at Choice School. We did everything to get him integrated into all the activities at the school,” says the letter.
As per the letter, the school conducted enquiries with the students and parents who were alleged to be involved in the bullying incident. The teachers and classmates were also questioned to find out the veracity of the incident. There was no evidence or eye witness and all of them denied any such incident.
The complaint from Mihir’s mother was immediately communicated to the SHO of the Hill Palace Police Station. Thereafter the police investigating teams including SHO and Intelligence units and Child Welfare Committee visited the school and hard copies of the mail from the parent along with attachments were also handed over to the Hill Palace station as per the request of the parents,” says the letter.
“We were advised by the authorities not to take any hasty decisions or actions without reports and findings from them considering the age of the children involved. As a school, we have zero tolerance to bullying and ragging. If any wrongdoing is found and informed to us, we will take strict action to ensure that the well-being of all our students is protected. Enquiries by the intelligence, education department authorities and the Thrikkakara ACP are on and we are awaiting the findings.”
SCHOOL TRYING TO SHIRK RESPONSIBILITY, SAYS MIHIR’S MOTHER
In the wake of the school’s letter to parents, the 15-year-old’s mother has issued a rebuttal. In her letter, Rajna P M, Mihir’s mother, took the school to task for sending across a misleading message that he was expelled from Gems Modern Academy. “The fact is that the school wanted Mihir to continue his education there.
We were the ones who made the difficult decision to apply for a TC. GPS International is trying to shirk its responsibility,” Rajna wrote. She dismissed the school’s claim that the parents had signed an undertaking regarding Mihir’s admission.
“The claim of an exclusive undertaking further adds to the misleading narrative, suggesting that Mihir was a problematic student who required special monitoring—this is simply not true. As for the point that we hadn’t raised any prior concerns regarding Mihir getting bullied, the school’s narrative is false,” she said in the letter.