Four Dalit boys expelled for not paying fees

PROBE ORDERED Minister assures action against the school if charges found true

GORAKHPUR : A Dalit man has alleged that his four sons were expelled from a school for not paying fees in Shohratgarh area of Siddharthanagar district last month.

Subdivisional magistrate Anil Kumar has ordered a probe into the matter, officials said. He met the Dalit man and the children, assuring them of all possible help.

Uttar Pradesh basic education minister Satish Dwivedi said action will be taken against the school if the charges were found to be true.

“I have asked the DM to enquire about issue and share the report with me. If the school is found guilty, action will be taken against it,” he said.

The man and the four kids staged a demonstration, first outside the school and then at the Siddharthnagar DM’s office on Thursday, seeking action against school administration.

The children were students of Saraswati Shishu Mandir, Shohratgarh. They were allegedly expelled on August 30 .

Despite repeated attempts to reach them, the school authorities

were not available for comment. The children’s father said, “On August 30, somebody told me my four sons were standing outside the school gate and the younger one was crying. When I rushed to school, the children told me that the principal had ousted them as their fees were not deposited. When I went to meet the principal, he hurled abuses at me and passed casteist remarks. He asked, ‘why do I send my children (to school) when I do not have enough money to deposit fees’.” SDM Anil Kumar said, “The matter has come to our notice. I can’t say much as the probe is underway. He has been given five other schools where his children can be admitted.”