Principal, teachers booked for penalising students whose parents moved Bombay HC against school collecting full fee during pandemic

Krina Shah, whose 14-year-old daughter studies in the school, has said in her complaint that during the pandemic, while they bought phones and laptops for their children and the students did not use the school premises, the entire fee was collected by the school.

On April 1, as per the allegations, Shah’s daughter, among other students, were asked to leave the classroom by the class teacher and meet the head of department. “My daughter was asked to shift to a laboratory along with one classmate. There were a few other students from classes IX and X. While a few teachers visited them, the stipulated time table was not followed,” said a student’s father, Gopal Sanghvi.

“The school did not follow to any guidelines regarding school fees during the pandemic, including the 15 per cent reduction directed by the government. We had then moved HC against the school and were diverted to the Divisional Fee Regulation Committee for further probe. But after almost a year of running pillar to post, we have filed a fresh writ petition before HC.” Around 10 parents have come together to file the petition against principal Reshma Hegde and two teachers Toral and Susham.

School Education Minister Varsha Gaikwad issued a statement on Tuesday that strict action will be taken against schools that treat children unfairly over fee-related disputes.
An official from the minister’s office said that the office of Deputy Director of Education has been instructed to conduct a probe. “If the school is found guilty, action will be taken, which can lead up to revoking its approval.”
While the school administration was unavailable for a comment, Hegde didn’t respond to calls.