JOIN USSchool gives hard time to student after dad wins case
A private school in the Capital is discriminating against a student studying under the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) category as his father had won a case against the school in the High Court.
Harsh, 7, studies in St Lawrence Convent Senior Secondary School in Geeta Colony. Whenever the child asks for permission to use the washroom, the class teacher refuses to let him go.
On August 17, Harsh Jha, wet himself.
Instead of providing him with another uniform or getting him cleaned, his parents were called while he was made to sit at the reception.
“I got a call from the school at around 11:30 am. The teacher said my child has done something for which he should be punished so they want me to take him back home,” said Dayanand Jha, Harsh’s father. Jha added that when he reached the school
he was disappointed to see that the child was made to sit alone at the reception and nobody had come to his help. He alleged that the school started harassing him after it lost a court case against some EWS parents.
Some parents had approached Ashok Agarwal, senior lawyer and RTE campaigner, who fought the case. Children studying in the school under the EWS category across classes were earlier forced to sit in a non-air conditioned classroom and not allowed to sit with their batch mates.
Ashok Agarwal said the school used to deny basic education to EWS children by not letting them sit in Educomp classes, arguing that they do not pay for these services.
After the case was won, the HC directed the school to allow poor students to use the same services as others. But the school is not complying with the order till date, he added.
Advocate Khagesh Jha, Agarwal’s associate, said children have alleged that they are made to sit in Educomp classes only when an officer comes for inspection.
“Children will never lie about something like this. Whenever we have tried to approach the principal she has denied such allegations,” said Jha.
The school principal was not available for comment.
Agwarwal has written a letter to the chief minister and the Directorate of Education to look into the issue. But they are not hopeful of action against the school.