There are hundreds of families left in the dark with the future of a beloved school hanging in the balance.
A normal parent meeting becomes a horror show when a bombshell is revealed, leaving Pune’s parents in a flurry.
Parents of more than 400 students from Sus, Pune, were left stunned on Sunday by learning that the school did not have government permission to function, leaving their children’s studies in limbo. Families who had paid to admit their children, some of them since last year, showed up hoping for normal news of the school reopening, to find that the CBSE-affiliated school could possibly not open as scheduled. As schools in the city are scheduled to resume on Monday, parents now have a race against time to get their children admitted elsewhere.
The school had taken hefty fees, between Rs 90,000 and Rs 1 lakh, for admissions in classes such as Std 1 and Std 2. Parents were given the assurance that the school was in the process of obtaining requisite clearances, with some even joining a week of online classes teaching elementary lessons such as numbers and alphabets. But the news that the school still does not have legal clearance has created an uproar and alarm. Most of these parents, who opted for the Sus branch due to its location, are now left with fewer options, since most schools have already completed their admissions.
The school has extended a 45-day period to get the necessary permissions, assuring that it will refund the fee if it doesn’t succeed. As an alternative, it has suggested shifting students to its Hinjawadi branch, offering free transport. But for families living in Sus, this is a choice that entails long journeys, with children spending up to two hours a day on buses—a choice many consider unworkable. Another proposal is to help open up places in local schools within a 7 km range, but since the school year has already started, parents worry that their kids will lose precious schooling time.
The incident has been termed a probable scam by social activists, requesting the police, education department, and government to probe the school for levying fees without legitimate permission. They reason that authorities must step in to help the affected students actively by arranging places in neighboring schools. The school has established an official agreement with parents, pledging bi-weekly reports of its efforts to seek legality and refunds or alternative admissions in case it fails to open within the given timeframe.
The inaction from school authorities and the state education commissioner has merely increased parents’ exasperation. While families consider their alternatives—waiting for the school’s said resolution, moving to the far-out Hinjawadi campus, or pursuing other schools—they are left with an uncertain future. The event has now opened questions regarding regulation in private schooling and institutional accountability that accept fee payments without obtaining requisite permissions. Until then, Pune’s parents must till now go it alone, groping in the dark towards a solution to save their children’s term before time expires.
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