Clear dues by June 10 to sit in class, Mumbai school tells students

Mumbai city news: Around 15 of the 70 pupils, who went to school on Thursday, were barred from classes for a few hours. The school called and informed the parents that the children would not be allowed to attend classes unless fees were paid.

The Dahisar school, which expelled 70 students for not paying fees after a hike, has agreed to readmit them only if they clear their dues by Saturday.

Justifying the school’s actions, director Jesus Lall said that the children will not be allowed inside the school till they pay the fees (HT)

Around 15 of the 70 pupils, who went to school on Thursday, were barred from classes for a few hours. The school called and informed the parents that the children would not be allowed to attend classes unless fees were paid.

Parents were upset with the school because it refused to readmit the children although the state’s divisional fee regulatory panel had asked them to admit the students on June 1.

“We had agreed to pay the fee if the school guarantees that the amount will not be used until the issue is resolved. But our children were made to wait in the lobby on their first day back,” said one of the parents.

The parents also said that the children were allowed to enter the classrooms only after they had met the management.

Justifying the school’s actions, director Jesus Lall said that the children will not be allowed inside the school till they pay the fees. “The defaulting parents came to the school on Thursday with a local politician and a police inspector,” said Lall. “We explained to them that we will not accept the children until the dues were cleared.”

He added that of the 70 students, three had paid the fees and one had left school. “We have given them till June 10 to clear their dues,” said Lall.

For the past four months, the school management and parents have been locked in a dispute over a 14% hike in school fees — from Rs 96,000 to Rs 1.2 lakh. On May 26, the school wrote to the students’ parents informing them that their children had been “de-enrolled” for not paying the fees.