Fee woes: Parents turn to KSCPCR after schools prevents students from appearing for exams

KSCPCR has received around 25 complaints against private schools

The Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (KSCPCR) has received around 25 complaints against private school managements who are allegedly not allowing students to sit for online examinations as their parents have not paid the fees in full for the 2020-21 academic year. Fr. Antony Sebastian, Chairperson of the Commission, said that a majority of complaints were against private schools in Bengaluru. The number, however, is not a reflection of how pervasive the problem is, as a majority of parents are wary of lodging complaints against school managements for fear of exacerbating the problem, said members of Parent Teacher Associations (PTA). “Many parents are not willing to come forward to lodge complaints against schools as they do not want their children to be reprimanded or targeted in the classroom,” said Rudresh S., who is the president of a PTA in south Bengaluru.