A section of students from E.V.R. Nagammai Corporation Higher Secondary School (EVRNCHSS) here has alleged collection of excess fee by the school administration in violation of government stipulated norms.
In complaints filed by at least 20 students studying in various classes to Olirum Mugangal, a non-governmental organisation working with underprivileged children from Melavasal area, the children alleged that they were threatened with denial of permission to take exams if they failed to pay the money.
A Class 9 student, speaking on anonymity, claimed that she and her friends were reprimanded on several occasions in the classroom for not paying. “The teacher scolded us in front of the class and asked us to kneel down,” she alleged.
R. Ramkumar of Olirum Mugangal said that while the school was supposed to charge only Rs. 50 per year for a student for Parent Teachers Association (PTA) apart from a minimal amount for those studying in English medium, the administration was charging anywhere between Rs. 130 for a student in middle school to Rs. 1,940 for a student in Plus Two Computer Science group.
“It is unafforadable for many as majority of the children are from highly disadvantaged sections of the society and quite often from broken families,” he said.
P. Chandran, another member of Olirum Mugangal said that the issue was not constrained to EVRNCHSS but a few other Corporation and even government-aided schools. “The reason often cited is to recruit teachers temporarily through PTA to fill vacancies. However, receipts are never provided for the fee,” he claimed.
When contacted, an official from the school acknowledged that a nominal fee was collected from the students to pay salary for teachers appointed temporarily. “While there are 1,479 students in Plus One and Plus Two alone, there are only 25 teachers for them. There is a shortage of 16 teachers, which we have addressed by appointments through PTA,” the official said.
Denying that the students were being pressurized in any manner, the official said the administration never insisted the students who could not afford to pay.
Allocation made in budget
Acknowledging that a few such complaints had been brought to his notice, Corporation Commissioner Sandeep Nanduri said that orders had recently been issued to allocate funds in Corporation budget for paying salaries for temporary staff.
“We have assessed all the vacancies and adequate funds have been allocated. There will not be any need to collect fee from students,” he said, adding that any such complaints in the future would be dealt with severely.
Orders have recently been issued to allocate funds in Corporation budget, says Commissioner
