‘Schools withholding exam admit cards’

Vadodara: The Vadodara District Parents Association on Tuesday made a representation to Vadodara district education officer (DEO) alleging that a couple of private schools in the city are not issuing admit cards to students who are supposed to appear in their class ten and class 12 board examinations shortly.
The association said the schools are not issuing the admit cards even as the parents have paid fee which is more than the fee capped by the state government through the fee regulation Act.

The Gujarat Self-Financed Schools (Regulation of Fees) Act 2017 has capped the annual fees at Rs15,000, Rs25,000 and Rs27,000 for primary, middle and high school levels.

After hearing the representation, officials of the DEO assured the protesters that they will inquire into the matter by sending their representatives to such schools.

“If the schools fail to issue the admit cards despite DEO’s intervention, we will seek a directive from Vadodara district collector and magistrate asking her to pass necessary orders as there are such directives issued by the Supreme Court in cases related to schools of Tamil Nadu,” said advocate and spokesperson of the association Kishore Pillai.

Pillai said admit cards are a very sensitive issue. “If required, we will stage a dharna in front of those schools which refuse to abide by the law,” he said, adding that in each private schools, there are at least five students facing such problems. “The parents of such students have already paid at least Rs50,000 so far which is much beyond the slabs of Rs15,000, Rs25,000 and Rs27,000,” he said.