Students thrown out of schools for unpaid Sep-Oct 2014 fees

Helplessness was writ large on the faces of scores of students from various local schools here in Lal Chowk Thursday morning after school authorities allegedly forced them out of institutions, asking them not to attend classes till they paid tuition fee for September and October 2014.

The aggrieved students told that they were coerced to leave the school and asked not to return till they deposit the fee for the two months.

“After few days, our class tests to be conducted. School authorities have warned of not allowing us to appear in these tests in case our parents fail to deposit fee which actually has been waived off by the court,” said a group of students. “Kashmir based private schools have been violating the orders of J&K High Court by forcing parents to deposit fees for September and October. The fee for the said months was waived off in view of the floods in the Valley,” said a group of aggrieved parents.

Earlier, High Court had directed schools to waive off the fee for September and October 2014 due to no class work in schools in the two months. “Various schools in Srinagar are withholding the admit cards of the students for various examinations or disallowing them to appear in class tests, thus blackmailing them to pay fee for the two months,” the parents added.

“There were clear cut directions from the Court in this regard. A committee was also set up to take a decision about the fee issue but that is yet to file its report and in the meantime, schools began to blackmail students,” said Sakeel Qalander, a social activist.

The aggrieved students and parents added that some schools are even demanding transport charges for these two months.

President Private Schools United Front (PSUF), G N Var said that no such direction has been passed by High Court where schools were directed to waive off the fee for the two months.

“We follow the court directions in letter and spirit. Anybody wants to clear his doubts can get a copy of court direction from me,” he added.