MUZAFFARNAGAR: It was a school conceived with the noble idea of providing free education to hundreds of children of Muzaffarnagar riots victims. Local residents had donated land for the institute and AMU had provided a grant of Rs 50 lakh. However, five years down the line, out of 325 students in Sir Syed National School in Muzaffarnagar’s Jola village, only 20 children of riots-hit people study here. According to some riots victims, the promise of free education was a farce as it costs nearly Rs 15,000 annually to send a child to the school.“We were promised that our children will be given free education. Later, however, we were told that we need to pay tuition fees, buy books and uniform and pay for other expenses. It felt like a rude joke. We are living in a resettlement colony and cannot afford to spend that much on our children’s education,” said Rashid Ahmed, who lives in Ekta colony, which is barely 300metres from the school. Rashid has four children and all of them are enrolled in a nearby government school.Rashid’s neighbour Abid Ahmad said, “I have four children. I want to give them quality education but cannot afford to send them to private schools. We had high hopes from this institute. We were promised free education, but were later made to realize that nothing is for free.”The school management, however, had a different story to tell. Mohd Anas, a member of the management committee, said, “We just charge a monthly tuition fess of Rs 550. We also provide free evening tuitions to children of riots victims for three to four hours daily. Students from all backgrounds are enrolled here. Our school is affiliated to CBSE and we provide quality education to all.”Meanwhile, Jola village pradhan Jamshed Ahmed said, “Frankly, majority of people who were displaced in 2013 cannot afford to send their children to Sir Syed National School. While the institute’s tuition fee is not too high, there are other expenses involved. My children go to Sir Syed National School and I know that it costs nearly Rs 15,000 annually to send one child to the school.”

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