Collector’s meet on schools ends abruptly as only select parents invited

Nagpur: District collector Ravindra Thakare will hold a second web meet on Saturday with schools and parents after Friday’s webinar ended in on a ‘sour note’ due to education department not publicly informing the most important stakeholders - the parents.
A participant said, “The issue came up about a school on Kamptee Road. But there was no parent from that school present. Education officer Chintaman Vanjari seemed to have invited only a handful of parents.”
Even the few parents who got the education department’s invite complained not enough advance notice was given to them about the meet.
Those present in the web meet said a heated exchange took place after Thakare felt he was being accused of not informing parents’ side well in advance, though it was the education department that should have ideally disseminated the information.
The collector however denied the ‘argument’ part to TOI. “No (there was no argument). He pointed out the change in timing was communicated at the eleventh hour. So I thought of postponing it,” Thakare told TOI.
The web meeting was a result of Unaided Schools Welfare Association Nagpur (USWAN) approaching Thakare after education officer Vanjari threated them with a FIR for holding classes up to Std II, among other things. Schools had always maintained that the June 15 circular, on which Vanjari had issued the FIR threat, was simply an advisory and not legally enforceable. People who attended the web meet on Friday confirmed that Vanjari did not try to defend his earlier stand.
Another participant in the meeting told TOI Thakare had offered to mediate between schools and parents. “The collector said that schools and parents should keep the window of communication open at all times. He also said that no third party should get involved in this,” the participant said.