HYDERABAD: The Hyderabad District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum 3 has ordered Jubilee Hills Public School to pay Rs 50,000 as compensation to a Class II student after it was found that the school had harassed the girl and her parents and withheld her promotion to Class III by withholding her exam result.
The forum also granted Rs 5,000 towards costs to be paid by the school, in addition to the compensation, ruling that there was a deficiency in service on part of the school. It said the school had made the complainant’s father to run from pillar to post and caused mental agony.
The school claimed that the student’s attendance did not meet the criteria and her performance was poor.
Mother was threatened: Police
The eight-year-old girl, represented by her father K. Veera Raghava Reddy, a resident of OU Colony in Shaikpet, had filed a petition against the school’s secretary, principal and the Jubilee Hills inspector of police seeking Rs 15 lakh as damages for loss of education of 86 days.
Mr Reddy alleged, “We had paid the complete fee. After conducting Class II examination, the principal did not release the progress report and did not send information regarding promotion to Class III from July 2015. They called my wife under the guise of counselling and demanded a guarantee letter towards keeping good education standards of my daughter. My wife lodged a police complaint as she was threatened. The school authorities demanded withdrawal of the complaint to give the progress report and victimised my daughter. It is a gross violation of the Right to Education Act.”
Mr Raghava Reddy filed a petition in the High Court, which ordered the school to declare the result. Following this, the school sent a letter and the parents collected the report on December 16, 2015. He said that his daughter was admitted to another school, losing an academic year.
The school said the student fell short of the mandatory 75 per cent attendance but was allowed to write the exam. “On March 26, 2015, the complainant’s mother visited the school and she was advised retest, as the performance was not good. Instead of taking it in the right spirit, the mother walked out without collecting the progress report. Apart from police complaint, the parents filed a petition with the district education officer for derecognition of school. They filed complaints on several forums. We sent reminders for payment of fee but they didn’t bother to pay. It was suggested in the letter that the parents may take away the child from the school in view of the unfortunate incidents,” he said.
The school claimed that CCTV footage was given to the police to establish that the allegations of the girl’s mother were false. Jubilee Hills inspector Venkat Reddy told the forum that a case of criminal intimidation and wrong confinement was made out against the JPS and chargesheet filed in Nampally court against the authorities. The forum found no fault with the inspector.
