Pending fees, students made to sit outside classrooms in Rajkot

Rajkot: A team of the education department visited a city school after a video showing students, whose fees were pending, made to sit outside the classroom went viral.
The video, shot at Unnati School, was recorded by a parent whose daughter was also forced to sit in the corridor outside the classroom. The incident happened on Friday when students of Class 10 and 12 were called in the school for verifying personal details for filling up the exam forms of the Gujarat board. The video shows a woman, probably a teacher, asking around 10 students to sit in the corridor outside the classroom.
When the person recording the video on his mobile phone asked the reason for the punishment, the students replied that it was because they were not able to pay the school fees. The students are also seen complaining that they were forced to write exams sitting in the corridor outside the classroom.
Sources said that the school is currently closed for Diwali vacation but the students of Class 10 and 12 were called to verify details like full name, date of birth, subjects opted for and submission of photos before finalizing the data for the Gujarat board exams.
District education officer B S Kaila told TOI that a team was sent to the school. “I had seen the video and a team went to the school on Saturday but no students were present due to the Diwali vacations. A team will again visit the school on Monday and record the statements of students and their parents and thereafter we will issue the notice to the school for explanation,” Kaila said.
Sanjay Joshi, administrator of the school, could not be contacted for a comment.