Gurugram school told to resume services for wards of fee hike petitioners

Parents of 42 children of Shiv Nadar School have been locked in a legal battle with the school in a case concerning fee hike for the academic year 2017-18. The case is currently pending in the Punjab and Haryana high court

Divisional commissioner, and chairman of the Fees and Fund Regulatory Committee (FFRC) D Suresh passed an order, on Monday, based on the complaints of 28 parents, who have claimed that Shiv Nadar School in DLF 1 was allegedly taking coercive action against their wards by discontinuing transport and meal services.

A view of the Shiv Nadar School at DLF Phase1, in Gurugram, India, on Monday, September 24, 2018. (Yogendra Kumar/HT PHOTO)

The order, a copy of which is in possession of Hindustan Times, directed the school to resume the transportation services with immediate effect, provided that the parents give an undertaking, by Monday evening, promising that they would the pay all the outstanding dues to the school.

The parents have been given time till September 30 to pay the dues. The school has also been given the liberty to initiate appropriate action against the parents, if the dues are not paid by that time.

Parents of 42 children of Shiv Nadar School have been locked in a legal battle with the school in a case concerning fee hike for the academic year 2017-18. The case is currently pending in the Punjab and Haryana high court.

Gopal Karunakaran, CEO, Shiv Nadar School, said, “A total of 28 parents had not paid the tuition fee and charges for optional services, despite multiple reminders by the school over mail, and had taken the matter to the FFRC instead. The chairman of FFRC, today, directed the parents to pay the pending tuition fees and optional service charges for transport and meal for the academic year 2018-19 by September 30.”

On September 13, 2018, the protesting parents received a mail conveying the decision of the management of Shiv Nadar School that meal and transportation services would be withdrawn if the fees for the same were not cleared. While the transport services were discontinued from last Monday, meal services were to be discontinued from 24th. Following the receipt of the mail, the parents filed a complaint with the FFRC.

The FFRC was formed in the year 2015 to ensure that private schools were not charging extra fees from students.

Petitioner Atul Gulati, whose children study in classes 11 and 7, said that the parents’ body will make the fee payment for the current academic session, in the midst of the protest, in compliance with the FFRC’s order.

Talking about last week’s ordeal Gulati said, “My children were barred from availing transport services last week. This was deliberately done to harass students at a time when the half-yearly examination is underway.” Jitesh Sehgal, whose son studies in class 4, said, “This year, the fee was been hiked by more than 20%. However, we will be paying it in protest. Thankfully, the school too has been ordered not to take any coercive actions against students.”