Over a hundred parents gathered in protest outside Thane Police School on Monday after their children were made to sit in the verandah for not having paid their fees. The school, managed by Goenka & Associates Educational Trust, had set a payment deadline of June 12.
What went wrong?
According to the HT reports, many parents reported receiving calls from various WhatsApp numbers, with teachers demanding immediate fee payment or the removal of their children from the school premises. The parents highlighted that the school's in-house app, which was the only accepted payment method, displayed June 12 as the due date but suffered from a technical glitch that blocked the payments.
Parent reaction
A parent of a Class 8 student shared their frustration with HT and said, "Previously, we could pay via online or UPI transactions. Six months ago, the school introduced a mandatory new app, which isn't available on most app stores. Even after accessing it through a link, my payment attempts failed multiple times."
Repeated attempts to contact the school principal were unsuccessful, and calls to the school's official number went unanswered. Schoolteacher Dieal D’Souza, who had contacted parents, declined to comment, as reported by HT.
Amidst growing discontent, Purvesh Sarnaik, Yuva Sena chief, announced plans to appeal to the education minister for the principal's dismissal and strict action against the school authorities. "This treatment of students is unacceptable and demands immediate intervention," Sarnaik said to HT.
