Students, parents of derecognized Prabhat Tara School protest at DEO’s office

Surat: After Prabhat Tara School in Tadwadi of Rander area failed to get relief from the high court with regard to its derecognization by Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board (GSHSEB), students of the school along with parents staged a protest at the office of the district education officer (DEO) in Athwalines on Wednesday. The aggrieved parents of the 46 affected students demanded that their wards should be given hall tickets and allowed to appear in the Class X and XII exams which will start from Thursday. With tempers rising and the protest turning aggressive, the police had to be called to ensure law and order. Protesters locked the DEO’s office and did not allow officials to go out.
A Class XII girl broke down amid the protest and said, “I don’t know what to do now. After preparing hard for the exam, I am now going lose one year!” A worried parent echoed the girl’s fears about the students’ future and said, “We want the education department to take some action and save students’ academic year.”

The school was derecognized in 2016 after GSHSEB found rampant irregularities in the school’s functioning, including hiring of unqualified teachers, making students of different classes sit in one room and showing a playground that did not exist, sources informed. Despite the school approaching the high court seeking relief for its board examinees, the board refused to allow the students to sit for the exam.

The court also ordered the education department to lodge an FIR against the school for cheating the students. On February 19, H H Rajyaguru lodged a complaint against the president of Maa Durga Trust that runs the school, Manju Singh, secretary Ankit Singh and principal Rita Chaudhary in Rander police station.