Religion has come in the way of some students seeking admission in a convent school in Sewri. Parents allege Sewri’s Our Fatima High School refused admission to their children on communal grounds.
Religion has come in the way of some students seeking admission in a convent school in Sewri. Parents allege Sewri’s Our Fatima High School refused admission to their children on communal grounds. “The principal told us to approach mullahs and ask them to open schools in mosques or madrassas,” said an angry parent.
Around 23 parents whose children were refused admission to Junior Kg have written a letter to the education department and complained that the school made communal remarks when they approached the institute.
“They turned us away saying we should approach our mullahs and ask them to open schools above mosques. We were also asked to tell the corporator and MLA to open a new school in our area,” said B Khan, another aggrieved parent.
Some parents allege that the school’s clerical staff has insulted them on various occasions. “The school cleaner rebuked me for having too many children. She said a ‘third child’ will not get admission. I was not even allowed to meet the principal,” claimed S Khan, who wanted admission for his son Anas.
Others have alleged words like ‘terrorists’ are openly used by the staff against members of the Muslim community. “We were told that our children will not get admission because we are responsible for bombings in the country,” alleged Fahmida Shaikh, another aggrieved parent.
The school’s trustee Father Donath D’Souza admitted that some students were denied admission, but he said he did not mean to hurt anyone’s religious sentiments.
“I felt sorry for them because we did not have vacancies. I told them that their religious leaders have an obligation to serve society and hence, they should demand schools from them. There should be no dearth of seats. But the parents misconstrued my intentions,” he said.
“The school has nothing against Muslims. In fact, out of 1,172 students this year, 553 are Muslims,” D’Souza said.
D’Souza said each year, the school receives thousands of applications, but everyone cannot be accommodated. “Our classrooms are already overcrowded with a skewed student teacher ratio of 110 students per class. The education department has not sanctioned an increase in the number of teachers either. We have no space for more students,” he explained.
“Every day, we field calls and letters of recommendation from several politicians. They pressurise us to admit a student known to them.”
An Indian Minorities Seva president A Malik has slammed the Sewri school for refusing admission to children on religious grounds. “Such discrimination goes against the Right to Education Act. It is unconstitutional. It needs to be tackled by the education department,” he said.
Members of the minority community allege communal bias is prevalent everywhere. “The principal at my daughter’s school took one look at my flowing beard and said I reminded her of a terrorist,” businessman Malik Haroon told DNA.
Shehnaz Kazi recalled a school clerk telling her not to bother about seeking admission for her son and daughter since Muslim children end up being illiterate anyway. “He said I was wasting my money since my daughter will eventually get married and my son will leave school midway to join his father’s business,” she said.
—Inputs by Shabana Ansari
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