Principal accused of using students as labourers gives shocking reply to RTI application - pupils were sent with teachers and staff to "count" the benches
Students of Ganesh Nagar BMC school in Kandivli were allegedly made to carry and load benches on a tempo. File Pics
Teachers at Ganesh Nagar BMC school in Kandivli don't know how to count. That's the impression that has been created based on the response given to an RTI application by the principal, who has been accused of using students as labourers.
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The principal's response states the school had sent three teachers, two peons, another staffer and a labourer to bring more benches for their classrooms, and the four children who had sent along were for "counting" the benches.
mid-day had reported on September 13 about students of Stds VI to VIII from the civic school being made to carry and load benches into a tempo, and later, senior inspector Nitin Pondkule of Kandivli police station, too, was informed of this by MNS workers. MNS vibhag pramukh Dinesh Salvi had filed the RTI query for Kandivli R-South ward officer, asking what action had been taken to ensure such incidents didn't recur in the future. The reply that Salvi got has shocked one and all.
"I had sought information to know what action had been taken in the Ganesh Nagar BMC School incident, after students' lives were risked by forcing them into such manual labour. The reply really shocked me," said Salvi.
"It is embarrassing that the school authorities are trying to dismiss it in this manner, rather than accept their mistake." It has also been alleged that the principal lied in the reply when he said only four students were sent for the 'counting', as the MNS karyakarta found 11 pupils in the tempo; this figure is registered in the police report as well. The investigation, however, couldn't proceed as none of the parents came forward to lodge a complaint.
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