Parents seek help from cops over kids' low marks at Andheri school

Allege that the school deliberately gave the children low marks in Std X final exam, which affected overall marks; police say will help initiate dialogue between management and them

The CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education) results are long out, but a group of parents of students from a school in Andheri have sought help from the police, alleging the institute gave the pupils low marks in internal exams, which brought down their overall marks. The students and parents fear that they will lose out on good colleges, when they fall behind in overall merit. They want the school to rectify the problem. The police have said the matter is not in their purview, but they will help initiate a dialogue.

The issue

Parents of around 12 students from Std X of Ashok Academy have not only written a letter to the school authorities, but will also approach the CBSE board with the complaint. "We are absolutely shocked with the internal marks which our children have received and believe that this is not the correct reflection of the efforts they have put in," reads the complaint letter which has been submitted to the Oshiwara police station by parents, who also claimed that the school did not resolve the issue.

One of the parents told mid-day,"We approached the school initially with the problem. We weren't given appropriate reasons. We were given the impression by school authorities that they would write to the Board to rectify the issue. However, when we asked for a document we were not shown anything. It appeared suspicious and so we approached the local police for intervention." Another parent added, "Children who have the calibre of getting 17-19 marks out of 20 in internal assessment were only given between 12 and 15. It is unbelievable. Because of low marks in internal exams, their overall marks went down. As there is already a huge competition for Std XI admissions to good colleges, our children will fall behind though they are deserving candidates."

Aggrieved parents have approached Sandesh Desai, Versova Unit head of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena for help. "As the school authorities are not coming forward for a discussion, we and the parents approached the local police. We are expecting a meeting on Monday to seek a resolution in the issue," he said.

Police speak

The principal of the school, Manju Tiwari, was unavailable for comment. A senior official from Oshiwara police station said, "This is not really an issue under the purview of the police. However, we will help initiate a dialogue between parents and school authorities, as parents have complained that school authorities have not met them."

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