Parents Protest Outside Thane Police School Over Alleged Fee Payment Issues
Thane, 11th June 2024: More than a hundred parents congregated in protest outside Thane Police School on Monday following an incident where their children were relegated to the verandah due to unpaid fees. The school, under the management of Goenka & Associates Educational Trust, had imposed a deadline for fee payment by June 12.
What led to the protest?
Numerous parents received calls from various WhatsApp numbers, with teachers insisting on immediate fee settlement or the removal of their children from school premises. Parents emphasized that the school’s designated app, the sole method for fee payment, displayed June 12 as the deadline but encountered a technical glitch preventing payments.
Parental response
Expressing dismay, a parent of a Class 8 student shared frustrations with HT, stating, “Previously, we could conveniently make payments through online or UPI transactions. However, six months ago, the school mandated a new app, which is inaccessible on most app stores. Even after accessing it via a link, my attempts to make payments failed repeatedly.”
Despite multiple attempts to contact the school principal yielding no response, and calls to the official school number going unanswered, schoolteacher Dieal D’Souza, who communicated with parents, declined to offer any comments.
In the wake of escalating dissatisfaction, Purvesh Sarnaik, Yuva Sena chief, announced intentions to petition the education minister for the principal’s dismissal and stringent action against school authorities. “Such treatment of students is intolerable and necessitates immediate intervention,” asserted Sarnaik.
