DoE awards Rs 1 lakh compensation to student who failed 10th board due to negligence of school teachers

New Delhi: After a wait of several years, one Arjun Chaudhary got Rs 1 lakh from the Directorate of Education (DoE) of Delhi Government in a case where the child has claimed mental trauma against a government school in the Qadipur area.

In 2017, the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR) had received a complaint that Arjun, who was then a student of class 10 B in the government boys' senior secondary school for the academic session 2016-17, alleging that due to the casual approach of the school not forwarding his marks to CBSE, he was declared "fail" despite clearing the exams in reality. In the complaint, he had threatened to commit suicide on account of continued neglect from the school authorities to take necessary measures to rectify his marks.

During their probe, the Commission and DoE found that the Head of the school and two teachers were negligent leading to the child being declared "fail". The inquiry found that this negligence had caused 8 months of academic loss to Chaudhary, the burden of which he would need to carry throughout his professional career now and caused mental trauma to a point that he considered suicide as a legitimate option to get rid of his pain.

"It was the collective responsibility of three teachers, HoS, to ensure that exams are conducted and marks for the same are filled separately. The casual approach of the teachers, HoS and failing to adhere to the duties and responsibilities assigned to them eventually lead to such a traumatic situation for the child where he even contemplated committing suicide," the commission said.

In 2018, the DoE was told to pay a compensation of Rs 1 lakh into the child's account to enable him to resort to extra tuitions, books or whatever resources and support he may require to bridge the academic gap that he has been subjected to for no fault of his.

The child rights body said, "He may have to bear the consequences of academic loss he has had during his entire career considering 12th board results and preparation during 11th and 12th for various competitive examinations have a significant bearing on the future of the child which stands at risk."

DCPCR Chairperson Anurag Kundu confirmed that Chaudhary had received the Rs 1 lakh compensation a few days back.

"After a long perusal of the child's case, finally the Directorate of Education(DoE) has given Rs 1 lakh to the kid in the past few days. I record my appreciation for the Director and all the officials for having played a role in this process. I hope this helps the child recover and secure justice for him," Kundu said.

The commission said that the delay in receiving compensation was due to several procedural issues.