parents Vibgyor Krishna Magarpatta education commissioner apologise (left) State additional chief secretary for school education, Vandana Krishna; parents of students at Vibgyor High School protesting at education commissioner’s office on Monday morning; PIC: MAHENDRA KOLHE Vishal Solanki Parents had behaved inappropriately with the additional chief secretary in a government office. They should have maintained decorum. Now, we have been instructed to not meet protesting parents — Vishal Solanki, education commissioner A three-year struggle to have their voice heard has taken an unprecedented turn for the parents ofHigh School students in the city, fighting what they’ve termed an illegal fee hike by the school. On Monday, they discovered that the state education department has slammed the door in their faces, on the grounds that they misbehaved with the state additional chief secretary for school education, Vandana, when they met her on August 31. The parents have been asked to tender an unconditional apology to her before any officer of the education department interacts with them. The officers, however, have instructed the parents to submit their issues in writing, instead of pushing for a direct meeting.The parents, who pushed for FIRs to be filed against two of the school chain’s branches at NIBM and, are frustrated that police have not made much headway in the case. On Monday, when parents went to meet theto follow up on their August 31 meeting, they were turned away with a letter asking them toto Krishna for earlier misbehaviour.Confirming issuing the letter, the education commissioner,, said, “We issued it as the parents had behaved inappropriately with the additional chief secretary in a government office. They should have maintained some semblance of decorum. Now, we have been instructed to not meet the protesting parents.”The parents are aggrieved that on August 31, they were not given enough time to make their points about their issue, despite making a formal appointment. “The additional chief secretary gave us just two minutes to meet her about our problem. Then, instead of being supportive, she asked us why we’d put our children in private schools. This is like turning a deaf ear to our plea and fight against the illegalities committed by the school,” noted Prajakta Pethkar, one of the protesting parents.The incensed parents rebutted, asking what the state government is doing to keep an eye on private schools. In the confrontation that ensued, they also resorted to sloganeering against the department’s role in their battle.“We have no say in the courts and now even the education office has shut us out. The school has been flouting norms and instead of lending us an ear, the department is accusing us of misbehaviour,” smarted Rupali Mahajan, another agitated parent, whose daughter is a Class V student. It may be recalled that on the plea of the parents, the deputy director of education had filed FIRs against the two Vibgyor schools between March 29 and April 5, for violating fee regulation norms.However, by early June, the police had filed a closure report on the FIRs due to “clerical” errors made by the officer of deputy director of education while responding to the investigating officer. While the court was yet to rule on the closure report, parents took up the issue of wrong communication to the cops by the department and a fresh report was handed to the cops. At present, the cops say they are investigating the case afresh.However, now they’ve lost any form of empathy from the education department. “We have been supporting the parents and listening to their woes. But they should have also contained themselves and kept to the etiquette of a government office. Unless they apologise to the additional chief secretary and she issues an order, I cannot meet the parents,” Solanki explained. Krishna failed to respond to calls or messages on the issue. On the other hand, Mahajan argued, “If questioning the government and protesting amounts to misbehaviour, we have nowhere to go now. We will demand CCTV footage of th e meeting, which will show that we were not out of line.”While the issue drags on, the children are bearing the brunt of the fight in school, say parents. “The school has not given our children their books for the academic year and we are forced to borrow books and notes from their friends,” Mahajan revealed. Seconding this claim, Pethkar pointed out, “The school’s refusal to distribute books to our children, as we refused to pay the raised fee, is unacceptable. Further, in another violation of Right to Education norms, the books issued are not available in the market.”In their defence, a Vibgyor spokesperson insisted, “Most parents have paid the fees. There are a few who have not paid the fees for the past three years. The books are scripted in-house by our specialised academic team and their costs are included in the fees. Despite non-payment of fees, we have been allowing these children to attend school, keeping in mind their well-being. They are also availing services and amenities provided by the school and are allowed to take their regular tests. These allegations hold no merit and the school is in compliance with the orders of the court.”

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