In a shocking incident, GD Goenka School in Rajnagar Extension allegedly confined two of its girl students in an isolated room for the whole day to procure fees from their parent on Monday.
The children who are also siblings were let off only after their mother came to the school.
“They didn’t allow my girls to go home when the school got over or even speak to me over the phone. Till the time I reached school, my kids were forced to be seated in a room,” said Nidhi Dutta, mother of the children.
Nidhi is a working single mother and a resident of Gaur Cascade in Rajnagar Extension. She was in Gurgaon for her office work when she was intimated about the incident by the school. “I reached school around 3:30 pm,” she added.
She has been fighting with the school since the last year over the deposit of annual charges. “Just to get the annual charges, which are illegal, the school has resorted to such murky and disgusting steps,” Nidhi alleged.
She also alleged that the school has been illegally hiking the fees by manipulating the Uttar Pradesh Self-Financed Independent Schools Ordinance 2018, even after the DM of Ghaziabad, Ritu Maheshwari, had notified all schools in the city to not change the fees as per the ordinance.
On May 10, 2018, Maheshwari had notified all schools through an order to not increase the fee till there is clarity on the formulation of fees according to the ordinance.
Shivani Jain, President of All Parents Association, who accompanied Nidhi to the school, said that the children were badly shaken by the incident. “The moment they saw their mother, they hugged her and started crying their hearts out,” she said.
“This is not just a gross violation of the DM’s order, but also of the Right To Education (RTE) Act 2009 and the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) Act 2005,” added Shivani.
According to RTE and NCPCR’s guidelines, children cannot be discriminated on the matter of fee dispute between school and parents.
“When I tried to make a video, I was manhandled and threatened by the staff,” Shivani said.
Nidhi said that the school’s unruly attitude is nothing new. “Few days before the incident, I was called for a meeting with the principal where I was literally roughed up by the school’s staff. My purse was checked and mobile confiscated to prevent any kind of documentation of the meeting.”
Shivani also alleged that the school staff mistreated them on Monday. “The teachers and staff manhandled us when we tried to record them. They even called us names and passed derogatory remarks,” she said.
After bringing the children to home, Nidhi filed a written complaint against the school to be booked under the Juvenile Justice Act.
However, the police seem to be reluctant to file the FIR against the school. Sarvesh Kumar, Chowki In-charge of Sihani Gate Station told City Spidey that he will investigate the matter further. No FIR had been filed at the time of writing this report. Sources said that he also tried to persuade Nidhi to have a meeting with the school and resolve the issue amicably.
City Spidey tried to contact the school authorities but entry was denied to this reporter. Even after repeated attempts, the school’s administration refused to speak over the call.
