Fate of 709 tribal school kids of Panchgani in limbo as trustees bicker

Students of Nachiketas High School and Jr College in the computer lab

The fate of 900-odd students (709 tribal and the remaining, regular students) of Nachiketas High School and Junior College in Panchgani hangs in the balance over a dispute between the old trustees and new management. The contentious matter over supposed violations of the terms of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is now with the district court, which has asked for an arbitrator to be appointed to settle the issue.

The founders of Nachiketas High School, brothers Laxman Pathre, 47, and Sudhir Pathre, 45, had decided to shift base to Pune last year. They had sought a new management to run the school and found Vidyamata Education Forum, Roseland International; they entered into an MOU with them last June. The state tribal department sanctions a sum of Rs 50,000 annually for each tribal child towards lodging, boarding and educational expenses, and M/s Nachiketas Education and Charitable Trust used to get around Rs 3.50 crore a year through this. Private students have to pay the regular fee of over a lakh.

A banner of Roseland International School hangs under that of the name board of the school, confusing parents seeking admission

The Pathres said that as per the MOU, the new management had assured them payment of Rs 3.50 crore as deposit and a yearly rent of Rs 1.10 crore, which was to be increased by 7.5 per cent each year for a period of five years. "While signing the MOU, they also made us sign a letter of consent to open a new bank account in the name of Roseland International School. We never suspected anything amiss at the time."

He added, "It was only when the government fund of Rs 3.50 crore was cleared that we learnt that the money had gone into the Roseland International School account instead of Nachiketas School account that we smelled a rat. We were then in for another shock when we found out that the tribal department records had also been changed, wherein our school name was replaced by that of Roseland International School. We had given no consent for any such thing."

Sudhir said, "If Roseland International School had no mala fide intent, they should have stuck to the terms of the MOU, and should not have violated them. They should not have changed the existing school name in government records and got funds transferred to their new bank account, without keeping us in the loop." Also, the rent amount of Rs 1.10 crore has not yet been paid, Sudhir said.

Students of Nachiketas High School and Jr. College at the school assembly; (below) during an annual day celebration

The MOU
The MOU, signed and notarised on a Rs-500 stamp paper, is dated June 20, 2017 (a copy of which is with this paper), between the Pathre brothers and Professor Sultan Shaikh, 49, on behalf of Roseland International School. The seven-page MOU agrees on certain terms and conditions, but nowhere mentions change of name of the school from Nachiketas High School and Jr College to Roseland International School nor does it mention that the name will be changed in government records. The MOU also does not mention the opening of any bank account in the name of Roseland International School, Sudhir said.

In their petition before the district court in Satara, Vidyamata Education Forum states that prior to the MOU being signed on June 20, 2017, the Pathre brothers had been running the school unsuccessfully and did not wish to continue with the management. So, they agreed to take over the management along with the existing students. They told the court that they had already spent Rs 1.50 crore on the upkeep, repairs and maintenance of the property and allied expenses. They said Vidyamata Education Forum had fulfilled their part of the MOU and there was no breach of terms of the MOU. They also stated that M/s Nachiketas Education and Charitable Trust had not fulfilled their part of the MOU about the execution of Leave and Licence agreement. They said the respondents had given consent for change of bank account and that Roseland International School had around 900 students and 100 staff and were running the school without any complaint.

Prof Sultan Dalekha Shaikh, the CEO of Roseland International School added, "We have already paid the deposit sum of Rs 3.50 crore and have spent another Rs 1.50 crore towards maintaining and redoing the existing building structure and have added new beds for the students."

He added, "The earlier management had been spending Rs 20 per child towards food, while we are spending Rs 100 per child, providing nutritious food as per government norms. Also, for managing the school affairs better, we have got a grade sanction from the state government from Rs 50,000 per tribal student to Rs 70,000. This means we will be getting a grant of an extra Rs 1 crore. This is greed that is making the earlier trustees go back on their MOU and are now causing hurdles in our work."

Prof. Shaikh said, "We have approached the district court in Satara and are keen on resolving the matter by appointing an arbitrator as per the court order. Also, we have got senior police officers appraised about the situation at ground level as the earlier trustees are using their political and local influence to harass us."

When asked if the status quo would have any impact on the new academic year, Prof. Shaikh replied in the negative stating that they had already started the admission process for the new year and tribal students are directly sent by the tribal department. Sudhir, however, said, that he and his brother would take the matter to the Bombay High Court, which means that the operations of the school could take a serious hit.

Students at the science lab

Counter claims
The Pathres have rubbished the allegations and charges against them, stating that the grant from Rs 50,000 to Rs 70,000 had been sanctioned to them last year itself, but due to some anti-corruption raid, one of the tribal department officials was arrested and the sanction was withheld for all tribal schools. "We introduced the new management to the existing tribal officials and our interest is the fate of the tribal and existing students, nothing else," Sudhir said.

Not less than a scam
The Pathres claim that this is no less than a scam, because they were not approached by the Additional Tribal Commissioner, Nashik; or Commissioner, Tribal Welfare, Nashik or even the Tribal Department in Mantralaya before allowing the school name to be changed on the records. Moreover, if public money has been transferred into the accounts of a new management, has the department conducted any audit or checked records before clearing the funds to the new management? Sudhir said, "This requires a high-level independent probe, as we, the old trustees, have not given away our rights to anyone."

State Tribal Development Minister Vishnu Savara was unavailable for comment as he was on an election rally at his constituency in Mokhada.

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