School hit by pandemic closes, students left in the lurch

Parents of students of Padmavathi Montessori School in Wilson Garden staged a protest after they were told that the school was shutting down.

The parents of students of a private school in the city staged a protest on Wednesday after the management informed them to collect transfer certificates as they were closing the school.

On Tuesday, they received a message from Padmavathi Montessori School in Wilson Garden informing them that the pandemic had depleted finances, and that the management was no longer able to bear the cost of rent and pay salaries to their staff.

A parent, who was at the protest, said that children under the RTE quota would be the most affected as they have to be enrolled in a government school in the same area. “We do not want our children to be admitted to a government school. We worked very hard to get admission in a private school under the RTE quota. We want the government to take note of this and give us justice,” the parent added.

The school management could not be reached for a comment.