School drops off child late, parents approach rights body

The school’s spokesperson insisted that they did not do any wrong, saying, "Safety of the children is our first priority”

Parents of a class 5 girl, studying at a private school in the city, have filed a complaint with the state child rights body against the school for dropping her home late.

In a complaint they raised against Chrysalis High with the Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (KSCPCR), they described the ordeal they went through for an hour as they lost communication about their daughter’s whereabouts.

"She was supposed to be dropped back home around 3.20 pm on Thursday, but she had not reached home. We were waiting at the drop point since 3 pm,” the parent said in the complaint. “There was no communication from the school about the delay. Finally, around 4.40 pm, they dropped her off."

Speaking to DH, the parents said they later learnt from their daughter that the school staff asked her to get off the bus on the other side of the road, but she refused. Wanting to punish her for not following their orders, the staff on the bus made her wait until they dropped off all the other children.

“The place where they asked her to alight was opposite to where we stay. Since it is wide and has a divider in the middle, it would not be possible for her to cross the road,” the child’s father explained.

Transport was cancelled

When they brought the issue before the school authorities, the parents alleged that they sent an email informing them that transportation had been cancelled for their daughter.

School's version

When contacted, the school’s spokesperson insisted that they did not do any wrong. "Safety of the children is our first priority,” said the spokesperson. “Since the parents refused to cross the road and pick up their child, our attender accompanied the child and dropped her on the other side.”

“The parents insisted that we should drop the child from where we picked her up. This would inconvenience the other students onboard. We have not done anything wrong from our side,” the school said.

The parents have filed a complaint against the school with the Hennur police.