Vikhroli school withholds Class 10 results over non-payment of fees
A school in Mumbai withheld a student's Class 10 marksheet for two years due to non-payment of fees. The student's family is seeking assistance from social workers and has filed a complaint with the education department. The school claims to offer installment facilities for fee payment.
Mumbai: The dreams of Kashish Lakdawala, a student of Manohar Kotwal Trust Secondary School, Vikhroli, took a back seat after the school administration withheld the Class 10 marksheet for two years due to non-payment of ₹30,000 as fees.
Lakdawala, a resident of Vikhroli, lives with her mother Deepali and her elder sister. She passed the Class 10 examination in 2021. Meanwhile, she lost her father and saw her mother undergo treatment for mild paralysis on her left side.
Deepali, who works part-time at a cake shop said, “During the pandemic, I not just lost my job but also suffered mild paralysis. So I ended up losing all my savings and therefore could not manage to pay the school fees.”
After approaching the school for the mark sheet in April this year, the administration provided a photocopy after the intervention of the local corporator. “Since I work part-time in a cake shop, it is difficult for us to manage our daily expenses. I agree that fees for Classes 8 to 10 are pending. I am ready to pay these fees on an instalment basis, but the school is not giving me a mark sheet after my commitment,” Lakdawala said. She added that considering the family’s financial condition, her elder sister completed graduation while working part-time at a private firm.
The family sought assistance from Dheeraj Kamble, a social worker, and filed a complaint with the education department. Kamble approached Nitin Dalvi, a representative of the Maharashtra State Student Parent Teacher Federation, for further action.
Dalvi said, “This year we saw many similar cases. There is no mechanism with the education department to tackle issues like this. We are urging education minister Deepak Kesarkar to look into such matters.”
Meanwhile, Sarita Kanvinde, a trustee of the school, said, “The mother of the girl had approached us in April after two years. Like Kashish, many other students also faced a financial crunch, so we allowed them to pay their fees in instalments even after the completion of Class 10. Our school has a self-financing secondary section with affordable fees. Considering Kashish’s financial crunch, we gave her a photocopy of the mark sheet, and we are ready to give instalment facilities for payment of fees.”
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