Student punished for not paying fees

The girl, a student of Class VII at Ryan International School in Sector-39, was stopped from sitting in the next class though she cleared the Class 7 final exam.

A 12-year-old girl's report card was held up and she was prevented from joining the higher class in a prominent school here over failing to pay fees, the girl's mother alleged. The school, however, maintained that the parent had not showed up to collect the report card.

HT Image

The girl, a student of Class VII at Ryan International School in Sector-39, was stopped from sitting in the next class though she cleared the Class 7 final exam. Her report card was also held up, her mother Rose Deb said.

"My husband died about five years back. I am also not employed anywhere so it became very difficult for me to pay my daughter's fees for some time. But that does not mean they will hold back my child from studying," Deb said.

Deb alleged that her daughter was made to sit in the school's reception room for nearly seven hours without food.

"I went to the school at 7.30 a.m. and was asked by the receptionist not to enter. She asked me to sit at the reception with some other students who had come to appear for a re-test. I was also told by her that since I had not paid the fees, I would not be allowed to sit in the next class. I remained sitting there from 7.30 a.m. to 1 p.m." the girl told IANS.

When Ryan International School principal Anuradha Sharma was contacted, she said: "We had given all facilities to the student like other students. We had sent many reminders, asking her parent for fees but they did not pay it."

About the school holding up the report card, Sharma said: "They did not turn up to collect the report card."

When asked why was the report card not given to the child later or why was she not allowed to sit in next class, the principal said: "The school maintains some rules. How could she be allowed in the next class without paying proper fees?"