Vikhroli school writes about unpaid fees on leaving certificates

A private school in Mumbai has written remarks about outstanding fees on school leaving certificates of students. The school claims that around 2,500 students have not paid their fees, resulting in dues of ₹1.29 crore. Some students and parents are filing complaints against the school, stating that this punitive approach may affect the students' future prospects.

Mumbai: Due to the non-payment of fees by several students, a Vikhroli-based private school has resorted to writing remarks about the dues on their school leaving certificates.

HT Image

Spandan Rahul Chaudante, a student of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Vidyalaya English Medium Vikhroli, run by the Vidya Vikas Education Society, received the leaving certificate – a copy of which is in possession of HT – that mentions his outstanding dues of ₹61,640 for four academic years 2019-20 to 2022-23.

Chaudante’s mother Samastha said, “My son recently completed his Class 10 examinations. We could not pay the fees due to a financial crisis at our home. Rather than addressing the issue through supportive means, the school administration opted for a punitive approach, publicly marking the leaving certificate with remarks about the outstanding fees. Due to this, he may not get admission to another college for his future education.”

Nitin Dalvi, representing the Maharashtra State Student Parent Teacher Federation, guided Chaudante to file a complaint with the Maharashtra State Child Rights Commission and the state education department.

“After this complaint came to light, it was unearthed that the school has written the same remark on the leaving certificates of approximately 50 to 55 students of the school, all of whom have had their unpaid fees publicly documented on their school leaving certificates,” Dalvi said, adding that criminal action should be taken against the school administration.

Accepting the remark of overdue fees on school leaving certificates, school principal Sujata Ghodke said that around 2,500 students have not paid their fees, leading to dues of ₹1.29 crore. “Since ours is an unaided school, we depend on fees to manage teacher’s salaries and daily expenses. Despite pending fees, students did not face academic loss. We allowed them to appear for exams, gave their mark sheets and issued leaving certificates too,” said Ghodke.

She added that the school administration is doing everything legally and they have repeatedly informed parents about repaying fees during parent meetings and sent letters about pending dues.

Dheeraj Kamble, a social worker from Vikhroli, said, “This new manifestation of arbitrary harassment by private schools raises serious concerns about the impact on student’s future prospects, potentially subjecting them to mental anguish and humiliation when applying for college admissions or seeking employment opportunities.”