Rustom Kerawalla, founder-chairman of Vibgyor High School, has been removed from the fee hike panel formed by Education Minister Vinod Tawde.
The committee, comprising parents, representatives of the school management and education department, was formed to look into the State Fee Regulation Act 2011 after parents complained of exorbitant hikes in school fees. The panel met once on May 19 and is scheduled to meet again on May 29.
Two years ago, a minor student in Vibgyor School, Bengaluru, was sexually assaulted. Mr. Kerawalla was accused of destroying evidence and refusing to get the matter looked into by authorities. The case is pending in the Bengaluru High Court. “The order to cancel the appointment of Mr. Kerawalla to the committee was made by the Minister on Wednesday,” a statement from the Minister’s office read.
Parents who have long been agitating against fee hikes reacted positively to this news. “The government instead of taking action against Mr. Kerawalla, had taken him onto the committee,” said Anubha Sahai, president of India Wide Parents’ Association.
Ashish Tibdewal, CEO of the Vibgyor Schools, told The Hindu , “The matters against Mr. Kerawalla are pre-existing information. There is nothing new. Further, there is no formal fee committee designated by government statute. He has not been ‘involved’ with the government in that sense - he just attended one meeting.”
