Alleging harassment and unfair demands by the management and faculty, parents of students of a school at Vepery alleged that they were being asked to pay a fine of ₹2,500 as their children did not attend the Independence Day celebrations on campus.
A. Aarthi, whose daughter studies in Class IX in the school, said she was among the 19 students from her class who did not attend the celebrations as she was ill. “The school did not send us a message stating that attendance was compulsory and neither could my daughter have gone as she was ill. When we went two days later, she was asked to either pay a fine or face suspension for 10 days,” she said.
Parents summoned
G. Elangovan, another parent, claimed that all the students who missed the function were asked to call their parents and stand outside the school. “When the parents finally reached, we were not allowed to meet the headmistress or even allowed inside the school campus by the watchmen. It is extremely unfair to demand such a high amount as fine as my daughter could not attend the event that day for genuine reasons,” he said. The parents further alleged that when they questioned the headmistress and teachers about the fine, they were told that it would be collected and given to a government relief fund.
“The girls have been going to school for the past three days but are being sent out of the classrooms because we refuse to accept the suspension or fine. My daughter did not attend school today and we are scared that the students will again be sent out of class on Monday,” Mr. Elangovan said.
The parents said that when they tried to contact the higher authorities, only one senior faculty member met them and told them that the move to charge a fine or suspend the students was to ensure discipline.
