Greater Noida school ‘locks up’ students over pending fee; parents protest

A private school in Greater Noida allegedly locked up 20 students belonging to various classes from nursery to class 7 for several hours over non-payment of school fee on Tuesday. They were freed only after about three hours, alleged parents who also demanded that legal action be taken against the school for harassing students in this manner.

The incident took place at the BGS Vijnatham school in Greater Noida West. Parents alleged that the school administration identified around 20 students from different classes and kept them locked in a classroom for around three hours for “not paying the school fee”.

One of the parents, Shyamendra Nagar, said, “My daughter informed me that she along with several other students were held in a classroom for around three hours and students were told that their fee was outstanding.”

The families alleged that the school authorities also threatened students that similar actions will be initiated against them in case the fee is not paid on time in the future.

“Children got afraid since the incident happened at school. Even very young children were held in the classroom and they began crying when they were not allowed to leave. It is highly unprofessional of the school administration to take such action against children in the name of late fee,” said Nagar.

The families of the students said they reached out to the district school inspector on Wednesday and have demanded legal action against the school for taking such action.

The school administration refuted the claims of locking the students in a classroom. BGS Vijanatham, principal, Meenakshi Khurana said on Wednesday, “Fee of around 9-10 students (all relatives) is outstanding for around three months. This happens every year. The families do not take calls (when we try to reach them). The allegation of locking students in the classroom is false. We made students sit in the class along with teachers so that parents could come to collect them. We wanted to speak to the families in person regarding the late fee as they do not take our calls.”

District inspector of schools (DIOS), Gautam Budh Nagar, Dharam Vir Singh said a team inspected the school on Wednesday and CCTV footage was scanned for evidence. “It has been brought to the notice that a few students were not allowed to leave the school premises and kept locked in a classroom as their fee was pending. The case is being investigated,” he said.