Parent moves state child rights panel against Dadar school, education dept

MUMBAI: A parent of a student from Indian Education Society (IES) Modern English School, Dadar, recently approached the Maharashtra State Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (MSCPCR).

She alleged the school and the education department ‘harassed’ her during a dispute over fees.

Manasi Pathre, a mother of a Class 8 student, said the school has been putting pressure on parents who questioned fee hike in the past.

Pathre and a few other parents have been vocal against the hike since 2016. They alleged the hike was beyond permissible limit and even complained to the state education department.

The school did not take fees from Pathre and several others as they refused to pay the hiked amount.

In July 2018, the school sent letters to parents who had not paid fees for the past two years asking them to pay or face action.

“Fearing that my daughter would be expelled, I paid the complete amount for two years plus late fee charges. Despite this, I got another letter a few days later asking to pay the fee or face action. This is harassment by the school,” said Pathre.

In her complaint, Pathre also claimed negligence on the part of the education department . “The department has not taken any action against the school despite our complaints” she said.

SCHOOL’S VERSION

Satish Nayak, IES trustee, said Pathre received the letter owing to a technical glitch.

“The parent had filled a slip, which had no counter-slips owing to which we did not get the notification of the amount paid earlier. We later told the parent to ignore the letter after we learnt that the amount was credited”.