BENGALURU: A Bengaluru school has come under heavy criticism from the public and the Education Department for failing a six-year-old child. St. Joseph Chaminade Academy, situated in Anekal, has been served a notice and threatened with withdrawal of affiliation, following a viral post in which the father of the child has alleged that his daughter, studying in upper kindergarten (UKG) has been failed in her examination.
“We have approached the school management and the managing trust as well, but they refused to do anything. The principal trustee said that as no other parents have objected to such things, they can’t do anything for a single child,” said Manoj Badal, the parent of the UKG student. Further, he also alleged that the school’s principal had “suggested” that failing the student would ensure that she would study properly in the future.
Ex-minister orders action against school
“Declaring a child failed, who is only six, is something beyond her understanding and may bring mental trauma to her,” the child’s father said. Following the post, former education minister Suresh Kumar hit out at the school and said that he has contacted the authorities to ensure that necessary action is taken against the school. According to screenshots posted by the former minister, the UKG student had scored a total of 100 out of 160 marks in four subjects and she secured 62.5 per cent, but was still marked as failed.
The school management said that the issue had stemmed from the school using a mobile app to declare marks which automatically marked the student as failed.
Anekal BEO Jayalakshmi said a notice has been sent to the school and the department was awaiting clarification, failing which the school will lose its affiliation. “You have been asked to submit a written response, failure of which will result in the suspension of the licence,” the notice read.
