Mumbai: Fees unpaid, Std V boy barred from exams

The child’s parents have not been able to pay the fees since September. Representation pic

A Dadar school has barred a Std V student from taking his exams for non-payment of fees and the parents have approached a political outfit for help. Sharadashram School said it was forced to take the action after parents ignored repeated reminders and failed to inform the administration about their reason for the delay.

The matter of school fees has been a major issue amid the pandemic. In a latest development, the Bombay High Court on Tuesday directed schools to not debar students from attending classes or taking exams for non-payment of the "increased component of fees" in the academic year 2020-21.

The school said it did not even increase the fees this year despite approval from the Parent-Teacher Association.

Only wrote one paper
"My child appeared for the first test on Saturday, but then he wasn't allowed to sit for other papers. The school should let him appear for the exam," said the child's mother Reshma Naphade, who lives in Worli.

"We are facing a major financial crisis. My husband had to sell his taxi to pay off the loan. I work as a domestic help, but I could resume work only recently. We are not refusing to pay the fees. We just need more time," Naphade said.

"My child has been studying very hard. We bought a smartphone on EMI so that our children can attend online classes. But we were shocked when he was disbarred from appearing for the online exam," she added.

The couple contacted the Yuva Sena, following which a complaint was submitted to the BMC's education department. "The parents paid fees for the first quarter. Due to the pandemic, many are struggling financially. That should not be the reason to deny a student his right to sit for exams," said Pradeep Sawant from Yuva Sena.

Neglected reminders
Gajendra Shetty, chairman of the school's committee, said the parents have not paid fees since September, but we "never denied access to online learning because we have been patient with parents struggling financially. But in this case, parents never felt the need to approach the school with their issue. They even neglected the school's reminders or efforts to contact them."

Shetty said the administration allowed extension to parents of six to seven students on being contacted, but parents in this case preferred to go to a political outfit instead of approaching the school. He said it was an online exam, it can be conducted again for the child after payment of the fees.