Schools cite traffic to turn down siblings

Two overcautious government schools in Chhattarpur have denied admission to a girl and her brother on the plea that they live across the road in front of the school and would be risking their lives by crossing the road.

Authorities of both schools told the parents that they cannot accept responsibility if the children got hurt in a road accident.

“We tried convincing them to let our children study in their schools. We will ensure that our kids cross the road properly and we will even drop and pick them up every day.
But the schools refused,” said Geeta, mother of the two kids.

“The principal of one of the schools has called us on Wednesday again,” said Geeta.

Geeta and her husband are trying to get their daughter admitted to Class II in Nigam Prathmik (Kanya) Vidyalaya, and their son in nursery in Nigam Pratibha (Bal) Vidyalaya school, both in Chhattarpur.

The couple has been trying to get the girl admitted in the government school for over a year, but school authorities kept dragging their feet.

“We started sending our daughter to a private school in Gurgaon that teaches for free. Our work has also been affected due to the distance from our house to the Gurgaon school. We have to commute a long distance every day, so we thought of getting our children to study at nearby schools,” said Geeta.

Geeta works as a domestic help and her husband is a security guard in Chattarpur.
The schools could not be reached for comments. “The schools cannot give this reason for not admitting any child. But we cannot blame the schools as they are packed with excess children in each class,” said a directorate of education official.