Chandigarh: ‘Don’t send messages to parents over no fee’

CHANDIGARH: Following a complaint by the parents’ body on November 10, the Chandigarh Commission for Protection of Child Rights (CCPCR) directed the Sector 32-based private school to not send ‘derogatory’ messages to parents for non-payment of fees. They have been also told to not withhold result of exams because of non-payment of fees. The commission further stated that the schools cannot sell books from campus.
Nitin Goyal, president of the Chandigarh Parents’ Association, said, “The complaint was about the school threatening to discontinue online classes. During the hearing, the CCPCR members tried to pressure me to remove the word ‘threatening’. They told me that the school has just sent a fee reminder and that they won’t actually discontinue. And see, the school has discontinued before the CCPCR passed this order.”
The parents, however, said the commission’s recommendation’s came late and the school has even discontinued online classes of students over non-payment of fees.
“The CCPCR delayed the disposal of the complaint and the school has discontinued the online classes of children, which is a serious violation of the child rights. On one hand, the fee regulatory committee is sitting over the complaints by parents, the CCPCR too has failed,” he said.
“The school has admitted that it sells books and it has withheld the delivery of books, this is a water tight case for the department to take action,” he added.
While disposing off the complaint, the child rights commission said, “The school should avoid sending any derogatory messages to parents regarding non-payment of fee as the matter is pending with the appropriate authority and the decision of the same may be applicable.”
It was further stated that the school should declare the result of internal exams of children within a week from the receipt of these recommendations as the school authority cannot withhold result of any child on the issue of fee.
Also, the school authorities have been directed to deliver text books of children within a week from the receipt of the recommendation as parents have already paid the cost the textbooks. The commission, in its recommendations, stated that the delivery of books cannot be stopped on the issue of fee.
The commission also reiterated that as per the CBSE guidelines, school cannot sell books within its premises.