Saturday, June 26, 2010

Chronology of events from School Management

Does the poor parent have any choice but to support School?

The cancellation of NOC is done only when gross in appropriation is detected, not otherwise. Do parents have a choice but stay united!

As per the Chronology of events - Did we ever state differently?


The only reason we are fighting is to oppose the expulsion of a Student for all the wrong reasons

Friday, June 18, 2010

Why can't the school think straight...

As per the law of land no child can be expelled from the school under any circumstances, except only if:
1. Failure to pay Fees
2. Disciplinary action for some grievous law-breaking event

Adhishree does not fall into any of these exceptions and hence her admission cannot be revoked/canceled.

Hence the education department is right in forcing the school to accept the child back and the only weapon the education department has is to blackmail the school with revoking it's NOC (No Objection Certificate).
NOC from education department is mandatory for a school to operate in any state in India.

So now the school is blackmailing the education department by getting appeal letters signed from every parent.

What does a poor parent do? sign the letter as they are scared and cannot stand-up against the epitome of education - THE GR8 SCHOOL

SOLUTION - Just accept the poor child back to school and fight the issue in a dignified manner in the Courts of India.

Letter from education dept. to school ordering to take back the child
or face stringent action (ie. Revoking of NOC)


Saturday, June 12, 2010

Price Avisha and Adhishree paid for fighting fee hike battle of Parents!!!


Adhishree passed the VIII grade examination with good grades. The teacher’s remark in the report card is:
‘Adhishree is a sports enthusiast who has worked hard. She is an intelligent child who has the potential to enhance her performance’

14 May, 2010 after taking the cheque for Rs. 33075 for the first term of IX grade
19 May, 2010 encashing it
28 May, 2010 issuing books and essentials
2 June 2010 evening just a day before the reopening of the school, Adhishree’s parents receive a letter regarding the cancelation of her admission.
3 June 2010 schools reopens

The school has given the following 3 points as reasons for canceling Adhishree’s admission for IX grade (letter attached).

Reason 1: For filing a false complaint and unwarranted allegations against the management
Reason 2: For writing a letter holding the Principal responsible for books lost in the school
Reason 3: For participating and leading Morchas against the Principal








Background
28 Mar, 2008: Fee Hike case registered with 1000+ Vibgyor parents signatures filed with the High Court by Avisha Kulkarni, Sanjita Prasad, Balachandran Unni, Prashant Basrur and Vishal Ruia in representative capacity.

3 July, 2009: As per the Court directives, Deputy Director, Education Department, issues order to reduce fees by nearly Rs. 20,000 (see document in the blog).

School defies the order. Asks parents to pay the original hiked fee structure. Avisha persists with the Education Department to force the school to implement the order. Edu. Dept issues letter in the name of ‘Avisha and parents’ to pay the reduced fees.

School demands the original hiked fees. Parents protest outside the school. All parents are requested by Dy Director’s order to abstain from paying the hiked fees. Yet, every parent pays the original hiked fees except Avisha.

Avisha going by the Court orders and not paying the hiked fees angers the management Avisha starts getting calls.


Reason 1 - Explanation

22-23 July, 2009: Avisha starts getting tip-off calls from reliable source close to the management about threats to her life and expelling the child from the school.

24 July, 2009: As a law abiding citizen, with a proof of support, Avisha brings this to the notice of the Police by writing a letter (see below).

- This is the letter which is now being used as a “false and unwarranted complaint to police” to expel Adhishree.
- Expelling of Adhishree as tipped by the caller (and mentioned in the letter to the police) has indeed come true.
- Do you still believe that the complaint was false and unwarranted? And if they thought it was false and unwarranted Why did they not send a defamation notice to Avisha then and there or why did they not remove Adhishree the then or after she passed 8th std? Why admission was given for 9th std? What happened between 28th May to 2nd June that school had to expel her?


12 Aug, 2009: After investigations, the police did not register any complaint, cognizable or non-cognizable but wrote a letter to Avisha on 12 Aug, 2009 informing her that Mr. Kerawalla was summoned to the police station for enquiry and was cautioned against not doing any such act which might result in a law and order problem. Avisha treated it as a closed chapter.


Points to be noted:
- The letter is a year old. Why school reacted so late by sacking Adhishree?
- What is it that management wants Avisha to withdraw when there is no complaint registered?
- The school obviously had no problem with the above letter for almost a whole year which is why it granted admission to Adhishree in the IX Standard and accepted her fees/gave her books and essentials
- Do you still think the way school expelled Adhishree is right? And innocent child deserves this?


As parents are questioning why Adhishree continued in the school despite the threat?

Avisha’s view point on this:

“My daughter was enjoying her routine in the school, happy with the friends and well settled for the last 6 years. Also, I strongly believed that any educational institution will never stoop to the level of taking parents’ battle to the children.

But since the calls were persistent, as a concerned mother I thought of bringing this to the notice of the police. Did I do any wrong?

“Police assurance of safety, my regard for education system and my eternal optimism never once prompted me to uproot Adhishree from the school. Also my legal battle taken up on behalf of 1000+ parents never allowed me to give up and run away from my responsibility but to face it, fight it and fix it”

“Some parents and the management think all this I’m doing is to establish my political career. Yes…I dream to bring change in the existing corrupt system but by using legal, ethical and moral means and certainly not using my daughter as a tool. If I were to gain your support for my political furtherance, even after working day and night for the fee hike case, why I never became the visual face of this battle and gained mileage out of it?”

“Today, I’m deeply hurt because, like all of you love your children, my beloved daughter is paying the price of my legal battle of bringing justice to all of you. My daughter and I have been singled out and I feel it is a lone battle for us. But even today, I will not give up the values that I believe in and which I am definitely passing on to Adhishree ‘fight for justice and never give up, however difficult the path may be’. I will never let her have this feeling that for no fault of hers, she was labeled as an expelled child and as a mother I never did anything to get her DIGNITY back. She is so very special to me, She is bright, she is intelligent and she has brought laurels to the school and I owe her, her happiness which is being with her friends in the school which she always believed to be hers.”

“Everyone is telling me, shift the child to another school, yes why not if Adhishree is happy to do that..but can anyone tell and convince Adhishree to believe that, yes, school which she believes is hers is a threat to her? Answer her when she asks me’but Mummy I behave well in the school, I study well, I respect my teachers, I am friendly with everyone still then why I have to leave?’

As grown ups when we have to leave our jobs and join new one is it easy for us?”

“Those accusing me of what kind of a parent I am… ask Adhishree, yes, please ask because she really is waiting for someone to talk to her and not alienate her and her mother as a threat to other children’s safety…..Me and Adhishree sincerely thank all those who are trying to get justice for Adhishree”

“Dear Students and Parents, I am a mother who worries not only about my child but concerned about all children’s welfare.
- I’m being blamed for the protest by MNS which I have absolutely no link to. Messages linking me to the protest has been sent by the school to all of you. Has anyone taken the trouble to question the management , ‘on what basis this allegation has been made?’
- I’m being blamed for possible withdrawal of NOC. NOC withdrawal is based on the non-compliance of Government orders by the management and has nothing to do with Adhishree.

I’m ready to face all 2000 parents, at any given time and answer your queries. But whether you would want to do the same with the management is your prerogative”

Reason 2: Explanation
Attached is the letter submitted by Adhishree’s parents to the school. This is self-explanatory.

Reason 3: Explanation
If the school does not comply with the Court orders, parents gather outside the school to protest. Is it not our fundamental right? And many parents were part of this. Why Avisha is being singled out?

Thursday, June 10, 2010

How Govt calculated Fee...

EXTERNAL LINK

Politics and Education

Just before school dismissal, there are MNS party workers demanding to take back Adhishree in the school obviously causing panic. School blames Adhishree's parents for orchestrating the chaos.
WAS IT MNS...?
DID ADHISHREE'S PARENT/S INSTRUCT THEM?
DID THE SCHOOL INSTRUMENT IT?
DID THE POLITICAL PARTY DO IT THEMSELVES?
WHY?

JUSTICE FOR ADHISHREE COMMITTEE

Dear Parents/Students of Vibgyor High School,

We are writing this letter to you since a disinformation campaign has been launched by the management to distort the truth relating to the dismissal of Class 9 student Adhishree Gopalkrishnan.

It is said that if Adhishree feels so insecure in the school then she should not have taken admission in the first place. The truth is that LAST JULY, when the writ petition filed by a group of parents against the arbitrary and illegal fee hike of Rs 27,000 was pending before the high court, a source very close to the management tipped the parents of Adhishree about a possible threat to Dr. Avisha Kulkarni’s life and that of their only child, Adhishree. Dr Kulkarni, the mother, who is one of the petitioners, had recorded this conversation & naturally got worried and as any parent would have done, approached the police and gave an application about the matter. The police investigated the matter and informed the family that the person concerned has been suitably warned. This matter was firmly closed almost one year ago.

The second piece of disinformation is that the parents “threatened” the principal. What happened was that last year, some of Adhishree's work books went “missing” mysteriously in succession in the school. As a result of this, she had to write her notes all over again. Since there was a pattern to this, the parents wrote a letter to the principal drawing his attention to the incidents and told him that he would be held responsible if such incidents persisted. After this, this matter also came to a close.

The Third piece of disinformation is that Dr. Kulkarni took out a morcha against the school & raised slogans. Dr. Kulkarni was one amongst 100’s of concerned parents who protested against the school not implementing Dy. Director’s, Education, order as per High Court directives to charge a reduced fee of app. Rs. 61,000 & not the School’s hiked fees of Rs. 82,150. School has even challenged this order of Dy. Director’s, Education, order in the High Court.

As for the case against the fee hike which was filed with the support of more than 1,000 signatures of parents, the matter is still pending before the high court. Please note that this legal battle, entailing huge expense, is being fought in your interest. You will agree that it is our democratic right to oppose huge fee hikes which have been effected without the concurrence of the PTA. Incidentally, there is no PTA in the school, since the last two years, which is a complete violation of the law.

Precisely because the management had no problem with Adhishree, who has brought laurels to the school as an excellent basketball player, that it granted her admission for Class 9. A fee of Rs 33,075 was asked for & was accepted by issuing a receipt for the same and she was given her books & other school essentials for Std. IX on 28th May 2010.. If the management did not want her to continue in the school, why did it admit her and accept her fee in the first place? This is the core question which you should be asking the management.

Nothing has happened between the time when the fee was accepted and till the reopening of the school on June 3 to warrant her dismissal. On the eve of the reopening of the school, she receives a letter sacking her. How would you have felt if this was to have happened to your child? As educated persons with a sense of justice, we are sure that you also would have protested against this gross injustice done to the student.

Friends, we continue to remain well-wishers of the school. We want its standards to be improved vastly and we wish that cordial relations prevail in the institution. But you will agree that the sacking of Adhishree is a totally illegal, arbitrary and capricious act which needs to be opposed tooth and nail. You have all material comforts, but let us not put up with injustice and violation of the dignity of our children. Today, it is Adhishree, tomorrow it could be your child.

We DO NOT support the withdrawal of the NOC by the government. But if that does happen then the blame very squarely AND SOLELY rests on the shoulders of the Vibgyor management. We appeal to you to join hands with us, express your solidarity and collectively ensure that Adhishree is taken back expediously.

With best wishes.

Convenor,
Justice For Adhishree Committee

How any School manipulates Fee hike

POWERPOINT