Saturday, 10 October 2020 | PNS | Dehradun
The Uttarakhand Abhibhavak Sangh (UAS) will file a case against the chief education officer (CEO) of Dehradun, Asha Rani Painuly for her alleged apathy towards the management of a private school which purportedly exploited parents during the pandemic. Some parents have alleged that the Raja Ram Mohan Roy Academy which reportedly charged increased tuition fees from the students of classes third, fifth and eighth from April to September, recently informed parents that they will adjust these extra charges in future payments of school fees. However, the various associations of parents opined that the school administration should face legal consequences as they have violated the orders of the government as well as the High Court. The president of UAS, Ram Kumar Singhal stated that his association had sent a complaint to the director of education in May against the said school regarding their illicit fees increment during Covid-19 pandemic. “The director instructed CEO to investigate the matter and subsequently, she also found during the investigation that the school has increased the school fees of three classes. As a nodal officer appointed by the government, she should have filed FIR in police station against the school as per the law as she did with another private school but she did not do so in this case. She is rather giving solutions to the school management to cover their unlawful activities. Why is she so biased in such matters?” questioned Singhal. According to him, the government should take action against the said school management and CEO to show that the culprits in every field will face consequences of their actions. “I have enough pieces of evidence to prove that the CEO has neglected her duties and has been favouring the school that harassed parents for months and overcharged them during the pandemic crisis. So, we’ll soon file a case against her in court,” said Kumar.
Meanwhile, the president of Abhibhavak Ekta Samiti, Luv Chaudhary also opined that no one should be left unpunished when they violate the rules. “Some schools are acting against the law but nothing is being done by the government. Just because the school has now taken a decision to adjust the extra charges in future collection of fees after harassing parents for months, should their unlawful decisions be ignored or forgiven?” asked Chaudhary. He continued, “As per my information, that school does not have even a No Objection Certificate (NOC) or any kind of affiliation from the State government. When the government is imposing a penalty even on those who are not wearing face masks, why do the schools not face any charges from the State administration for such serious violations?”
This correspondent tried to reach the CEO and the said school management for their view on the matter but they were not available to comment.
