Sharda Bhandare holds a photo of her daughter Gauri, who has been expelled from GM International School in Goregaon
Gauri Bhandare, 6, sits at home crying watching her classmates go to school every morning.
Daughter of a small-time technician, Gauri had been studying in GM International School (pre-primary section of MN English High School) in Goregaon (West) since 2010 when she joined nursery.
She is a smart student and her report cards have no adverse entries. When the school reopened in April, she was not given admission to class 1. The reason? Her mother, Sharda, had protested against the school management over a fee hike in 2011. “Soon after the protest, my child was discriminated in the class and once badly beaten by a teacher. We lodged a police complaint which further irked the management and my child’s harassment continued for two years,” said Sharda.
She alleges that Gauri was told to sit on the floor and she was not included in the school picnic. “The school was doing this to intimidate us. We are lower-middle class people and we cannot afford to admit her to any other school. We had already paid an admission fee of Rs11,790,” she added.
The school told Gauri’s semi-literate parents that they had failed to initiate fresh admission process. The parents had been paying hefty fees for the last three years and were ready to pay for this year too despite qualifying for RTE quota for economically weaker section. “We didn’t know about RTE until now. Hope we get the benefit now,” said Sharda. Gauri’s case is an eye-opener for the state government and especially school education minister Rajendra Darda, who spearheads the Right to Education campaign.
Sharda’s parents have lodged complaints against the school. In July, the child rights commission ordered the BMC’s education department to submit its report. The school representatives had even reached Bhandares’ relative’s place seeking withdrawal of the complaint. Administrative officer of P/South ward’s education department Raju Tadvi said he had issued a notice to the school on Friday. Principal Priyanka Malhotra remained unavailable for comment. An official said the institution has already filled the quota under the RTE Act. “We have admitted more kids over and above the RTE quota.”
Activist Qutub Jahan said Gauri’s expulsion is illegal. “Gauri has to be given justice,’’ she added.
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