The 4-year-old son of Yogesh Ilag from Grant Road was refused admission in junior kindergarten by Cumballa Hill High School despite he being allotted a seat by the BMC in the first round under the Right to Education (RTE) quota.
Ilag has alleged that school principal Joshna Duarte humiliated him and told him that the BMC education inspector had given her permission to refuse admission by not entertaining those allotted RTE quota. When he tried to contact the education inspector on her phone, he was told she had been admitted in the ICU of a hospital.
Ilag said he had approached the school immediately after he received the message from the online portal that conducted the admission process. They went to the school on May 25 to take admission. But it was closed for vacation. They went there again in the first week of June. However, they were able to meet the principal only last Thursday. But when they met Duarte, they were humiliated, the parents said.
Ilag said: "When I met the principal she said I didn't have the stature to admit my son in her school. She then said she would see my son in person and then decide, and asked me to meet her with my son the next day. When I went to the school the next day, the principal claimed her school followed RTE only from standard I, not from pre-primary. She also claimed she had spoken to Alka Shivde, the education inspector concerned, regarding my son's admission and that the inspector had told her not to entertain parents like me. She also humiliated me saying I should be ashamed to educate my son under the RTE, and asked how my child would be able to adjust in a school like Cumballa.
"I then approached the BMC education office, but they told me that I should get it in writing from the principal that she would not admit my son. When I tried to contact on phone Shivde, the education inspector, both her son and husband said she was in hospital."
Jayant Jain, president, All India Federation of PTA, said: "We condemn the action and attitude of the principal of Cumballa Hill High School and advise parents to take up this issue with the authorities concerned. The head mistress must be penalised for her inhuman action."
When dna tried to contact the principal of Cumballa Hill High School for her version, she was not available in the school. The secretary of the school, who picked up the phone did not reveal her name, but said: "Our principal won't humiliate anyone. She might have told him that there was no seat. I am not aware of any such incident. We only have one division in kindergarten. If there are seats, we do help parents with admission."
Shambhavi Jogi, education officer, BMC, said: "In the evening I called the principal of Cumballa Hill High School, and she said she would call Yogesh Ilag on Tuesday and give his child admission."
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