A private school on the Bharat Heavy Electronics Limited Township premises in Tiruchirappalli has announced to collect a refundable deposit of Rs 5,000 from each student. This move, undertaken by the school administration to improve its infrastructure, has drawn severe opposition from the students’ parents. 

The school has around 5,000 students from kindergarten to Class XII, and recently started demolition work on an old building on the campus to replace it with a new one. The institution has collected the refundable deposit of Rs 5,000 from each student, citing this project.

The parents of several wards objected to the decision, and they brought their concerns to the attention of Chief Education Officer (CEO) G Krishnapriya and Minister for School Education Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi.  

"The school management has not even mentioned the date when the amount would be refunded. How can we trust them?" asks a parent of a 17-year-old student.

"Parents have not raised the concerns with us. If they do so, I will take it up with the management. The amount is refunded when a student leaves the school," M Karuppiah, Principal of the school told The New Indian Express when asked for a comment.

An official from the School Education Department in Tirchy stated that an investigation would be conducted before taking any further action.