2 pvt schools shut in city for indefinite period after stir by parents on fees issue

KOLKATA: Two private schools in the city announced sudden closure for an indefinite period on Thursday citing law and order issue. The move followed after agitation by a section of guardians on the issue of payment of school fees.

A spokesperson of the group of educational institutes including G D Birla Centre for Education and Ashok Hall Girls' Higher Secondary School said that the decision was prompted by apprehension about "threat for the safety and protection of students" of the two institutions. Rajib Ghosh, spokesperson of G D Birla Guardians Forum, blamed the school management and said that the move was to divert attention from the "legitimate demand of the guardians that the school management denied annual report cards and promotion of students despite payment of fees as per the order of the honourable high court on March 25, 2022 even as the new session began on April 4."

He claimed that guardians did not demonstrate to disrupt academic activities of the schools. "We had paid the requisite fees as directed by the Calcutta High Court but still students were unfairly deprived of their the annual report card and promotion . So, we stood near the school gate. The school is not concerned with the future of thousands of students," he said. Students from lower infant to class eleven-twelve were affected by the developments.

The schools' spokesperson said that some of the guardians even refused to pay the outstanding fees of 2019-20 and falsely claimed they had cleared the same. "They had paid only a fraction of the amount in a haphazard manner," he added. The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday ordered private schools not to restrict promotion of students if fees are not paid. A Division Bench directed all students to join the new class.