Parents of 25 expelled students seek education department's help

Twenty-five parents whose children were expelled by a Dharavi-based school to make space for the 25% Right to Education (RTE) quota have now written a letter to the BMC's education department. According to All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen (AIMIM) members who accompanied the parents when the complaint was submitted to the education department, the department has now asked the school concerned for a clarification.

The 25 students, out of 73 in total, were told this week that they would not be promoted to class I. According to the parents, this is because the school wanted to make space in class I for the 25% quota reserved for students under RTE.

Ashish Kamble (name changed), one of the parents whose child was expelled, said: "We parents went to the BMC's education department with the AIMIM members. We are hoping the department will help us."

According to AIMIM joint secretary Shaan Illahi, the BMC's education department has asked the school to reply why it had expelled the students.

In spite of calls and messages, the BMC's education officer Prakash Charate remained unavailable for comment.