BENGALURU: It’s been a rollercoaster for the past few days for 17-year-old Harish (name changed). With his school insisting on fee payment, he attempted suicide on Tuesday. On Thursday, the state’s primary and secondary education minister Suresh Kumar knocked on his door to give him courage and some life tips too.
The class 10 student of a school in Somasundara Palya, HSR Layout was allegedly scolded in front of his schoolmates over non-payment of fees and wasn’t allowed to write the school-level exam. The distressed boy tried to hang himself at home.
On Thursday, the minister sat down with the boy and asked him to show courage in the face of adversity. “Did you ever think what would have happened to your parents or sister? You have to muster courage to face any adversity in life. You should not resort to methods like committing suicide,” he said. The minister cited the example of Mahesh, the son of a migrant worker, who passed with flying colours in last year’s SSLC exam. “Many people came to help him continue his education. Life is like that. One shouldn’t lose heart during adversities,” he told the student.
Notice to school:
The education department has sent a notice to the school for an explanation about the incident and on why it should not withdraw recognition. The action has been taken under Section 188 of IPC and Section 3 of Disaster Management Act and Karnataka Education Act. The parents alleged that police failed to take action against the school when they tried to register a complaint. The issue comes at a time when parents have been complaining that schools are demanding second and third-term fees and threatening students they won’t be allowed to write exams if they don’t pay up.