FIR against private school in Bhubaneswar over alleged confinement of students for non-payment of fees

Parents of a private school in Odisha, registered an FIR with Bharatpur police in Bhubaneswar seeking action against the school authorities for allegedly confining their wards in a room for hours over fee dues. 

Police said the FIR has been lodged by eight parents alleging that their wards were locked in the library room by the authorities of Apeejay School (under the aegis of Apeejay Education Trust, a welfare trust of the Apeejay Surrendra Group) at Ghatikia for five hours on Monday, August 22, over the fee issue. 

"The FIR has been lodged seeking action against the School CEO, Vice-Principal and Administrative manager. We have launched an investigation into this matter," said a cop, as stated in a report by The New Indian Express. 

Prior to moving to the police station, the aggrieved parents staged a dharna in front of the school. They also moved to the Odisha State Commission for Protection of Child Rights to lodge their grievance in this regard. 

Parents share what happened
The parents alleged that around 30 to 35 students were confined in the library room for five hours from 9.30 am to 2.30 pm and they weren't permitted to eat or use the washroom. 

"The students were also not allowed to make phone calls to their parents and were handed over the letter of non-payment of fee while leaving the campus," alleged one of the agitating parents. 

In their FIR the parents alleged that though the State government had notified waiver of tuition fee for 2020-21 and 2021-2022, school authorities didn't follow it and forcibly collected it. 

"We requested that they adjust the fee or initiate a refund. Instead of considering our request, the school authorities detained our students," the parents said. 

One of the parents also alleged that her child was held back in spite of payment of the fee. The parents in their FIR alleged that such confinement, which caused both mental and physical harassment to their wards, was a violation of the child rights, Juvenile Justice Act as well as the order of the Supreme Court and sought appropriate action in this regard. 

The School officials couldn't be reached for their comments on this matter. 

Meanwhile, condemning the incident the Odisha Abhibhabak Mahasangh, a state-level parents' body, demanded strong action against all private schools that have not followed the government order for a waiver of tuition fees for the COVID period. 

The parents' body also demanded streamlining of the fee structure for all private schools in the State for the 2022-23 academic session.