CHENNAI: A city consumer forum has directed a school to pay Rs 20,000 compensation for asking a student to discontinue since he suffered from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

The complainant T Prithiviraj of Maduravoyal submitted that the school issued the transfer certificate just within a week after admitting his son in Class 1 in 2017. He said he had paid a fee of Rs 6,000 and the management of Narayana E- Techno School had told him to pay the remaining fee of Rs 60,000 in two instalments. However, within a week, the school issued transfer and bona fide certificate to the child and had made some remarks. He filed a complaint before the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, Chennai North, seeking a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the mental agony caused to him by the conduct of the school officials. He also issued a legal notice to the school.

In reply to the notice, the school management denied the allegations and said the boy’s father had merely reserved a seat for his son by paying Rs 5,000. His request for a refund was kept under consideration for the reason that the child was suffering from ADHD and the complainant himself had voluntarily withdrawn his son from the school, the school management said.

The consumer forum treated the school as ex-parte since the school officials did not appear before it. The forum, presided by K Lakshmikantham and member P V Jeyanthi directed the school to pay Rs 20,000 as compensation to Prithiviraj.