School refrains mother from meeting child

A mother of a pre-kg student, studying in a private school, has lodged a police complaint against the school management for refraining her from meeting her son during a school event.

"My son kept crying throughout. On examination, we found that he was injured by the stapler pins on a wristband, which the school had provided him. He was looking for me to help him remove the band. No one had attended to him," she said.

Students participating in the Independence Day celebrations were asked to gather in their classrooms prior to the performance on August 15. The mother, who has sought anonymity, said that she was not allowed to meet her child despite requests.

"Why should children be held back in the classroom for so long, especially when it is a holiday and the other students are performing?" she questioned. She said that none of the teachers had taken note of the injury until she pointed it out.

Speaking about the incident, Susheela S, Director, Vishwa Vidyapeeth International School, said, the school had apologised to the parent for the staple pin injury.

"It is tough for us to manage so many children at once. It is to facilitate convenience that these children were made into batches and asked to sit in their classrooms while the other students were performing," she said.

She claimed that the parent of the child had threatened to take necessary action if the school did not respond to her. She also sought to know why the parent had lodged a complaint several months after the incident. "The child has also been taken out of school. We are only hopeful that incidents like these do not affect the child's education," said Susheela.

Photographs

Yet another aspect mentioned in the complaint lodged with Makkala Sahayavani on October 1 is that the mother's photographs were taken without consent. The complainant has said that during a meeting with the school in subsequent weeks, her photographs were clicked.

"I asked them to show me the pictures but I was told that the photographer had left the venue. It was after this incident that I lost confidence and stopped sending my son to the school," she said.

The school authorities said that during the 'Mother on duty' event, photographs of participants who speak in the discussion are taken and the best speaker is awarded on Women's day. "Only group pictures were taken during the event. We told her that she could check them herself in the school," said Susheela.