Rustomjee school told to show cause for removing 48 Std I students

However, instead of waiting for a response from the BMC education office, the school removed 48 students stating that their parents had not paid the fees

In a meeting with the state education minister held on March 20, the authorities of Dahisar's Rustomjee International School were asked to submit some documents to the education officer regarding the issue of fee hike raised by parents, and wait till a report was issued before taking any action against students.

However, instead of waiting for a response from the BMC education office, the school removed 48 students stating that their parents had not paid the fees. Hence, the education officer sent a show cause notice to the authorities asking them to reply within seven days.

While the school says that the action was taken due to the fee-related dispute, parents are of the opinion that they never refused to pay the fees, but were waiting for the education office to decide on the hike.

The notice states, "Following the meeting on March 20, the school was asked to submit some documents to the education officer. But it hasn't been done yet. The school was asked to wait until the officer issued a report on the parents' complaints before taking any action. Yet the management issued leaving certificates (LCs) to 18 students on April 5. Soon after, the school was sent a letter and asked not to take action. But even then they issued more LCs. The school management should submit an explanation within seven days justifying why its approval should not be cancelled."

Sainath Durge from Yuva Sena, whom the parents had approached for help, said, "This is against the fee-hike regulations. More so, the school management took action without paying any heed to the education officer's directives."

Meanwhile, parents submitted another letter to the education officer, which states, "The school is misinterpreting the Fee Regulation Act and using it as per their convenience. If the authorities fail to take action, we will be forced to protest outside the education office."

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