NEW DELHI:  A convent school, which allegedly removed 10 EWS Class 9 students, citing the Right To Education Act and later admitted them after a “clarification” from the Delhi government, has sent defamation notices to editors of three media houses and parents of six of these students for “damaging” its reputation. 

According to the notices, the three newspapers on Friday published “false and fabricated news without any proof, without their knowledge of the RTE Act and so involved in criminal conspiracy by damaging the reputation” of St Lawrence School in Geeta Colony.

The students had expelled the 10 students to be promoted to Class 9, citing the guidelines of the Right To Education Act.

In the notice, St Lawrence claimed that parents of these students were asked to send their wards for further studies “subject to final clarification” that they sought from the Directorate of Education (DoE) followed by a case in the Delhi High Court. 

The DoE told this newspaper that the school was given a clarification that schools on government land are mandated to provide free education to the EWS students till Class 12.

Calls to the school for comment went unanswered.

‘How will we pay?’

One of the parents complained that he would not be able to pay the fine of D2,100 as demanded. “How will we pay ... that too for standing up?”