TURA: The owner and headmistress of a private school in Tura is under a probe ordered by the district administration after she prevented two young children from writing their final exams merely because their parents were yet to clear two months of school fees.
West Garo Hills Deputy commissioner Ram Singh has directed the District School Education officer to submit a report on the incident involving the Casarina Public school headmistress Marina R Marak.
A preliminary enquiry report has also been sought by the district police after the aggrieved father whose two young children were confined to a room and prevented from writing the exams filed a police FIR mentioning the trauma they had to go through.
In the FIR, William S Sangma accused the school headmistress of torturing and harassing his two minor daughters, aged 5 and 10 years, by forcing them to be confined inside the school without allowing them to appear for the final exams that began on the 19th of November on the grounds they had not cleared two months of fees.
“My minor daughters know nothing about the matter while they have been subjected to mental and physical torture punishment in retaliation for being unable to clear the fees for the last two months,” mentioned William in his FIR with the police.
“Instructions have already been given to the school education officer to submit a report and we will take appropriate action if any child’s rights have been violated,” said deputy commissioner Ram Singh.
In the face of the police FIR, a compromise has been reached between the headmistress and the aggrieved parent allowing for the children to appear in the rest of the exams currently underway.
“She (headmistress) apologised and has allowed both my daughters to appear for the rest of the exams although they lost the opportunity to write the previous subjects,” said parent William Sangma.
The police, based on the FIR, also summoned the headmistress and the aggrieved parent over the incident.
“An officer from the women police inquired the matter and both the headmistress and the parent have compromised and given a written statement in the police station terming it a misunderstanding,” said district police chief MGR Kumar.
It is worth mentioning that most schools in the country, including the top rank holders, allow every child, irrespective of whether he or she has outstanding dues, to appear in their exams holding back only the report card until clearance of fees.
However, in some private schools in Tura and other parts of the Garo Hills, children are made to suffer by being barred from appearing for the finals because of financial dues attributed to their parents.
To make matters worse, some private schools in Tura stand accused of collecting admission fees for the next academic session even before the year has come to an end.
“This is done by some school heads as a means to prevent students from leaving the institution and taking admission elsewhere,” claim some parents and mention about one particular headmistress who issues transfer certificates to entire family members even if one wishes to leave the institution.
The annual hike in fines for late fees being deposited has also become a talking point in the region.
“What began with a fine of Rs 10 has now gone up to Rs 150 each month. This puts additional burden on families who are already finding it difficult to clear their children’s dues on time,” point out parents.
In the light of several allegations involving the fate of education of children surfacing, Deputy Commissioner Ram Singh has informed that a comprehensive review of the education scenario in the district, particularly involving private schools, would be looked into at the earliest.