After effects of the Demonstration on 1.6.12

The Demonstration of 1.6.12 could not be called massive numerically, since only about 500 parents of the city participated.  But it was solid, considering that even during school holidays so many got to know of the event and participated.  It also exhibited character in so far as the parents including ladies were not inclined to get up from the road and leave even after the Vote of Thanks had been delivered.

This rally, its participation and more so the support lent by the M.P of Coimbatore Shri. P.R.Natarajan, MLA of Valparai Shri. M. Arumugam and many other leaders from various political parties and outfits and also from organisations representing the Central Government Employees, State Government Employees, Bank Officials, Insurance Employees and Student Organisations have given a clear message.

The effect was multi-pronged : 

(1) There is a noticeable change in the attitude of the approach by the District Administration/Educational Offials in tackling the issues raised by the Parents.

(2) Police Officials have become sensitive to the issues raised by the Parents and have started appreciating the genuineness of the same, instead of blocking their way into the school premises as it used to be done earlier at the behest of requests by the school managements.

(3) The school managements also thought it fit to settle the issue within their campuses regarding non-issue of text books and note books to a select few (for targeting) on 4.6.12 when the schools re-opened.

(4) The earlier attitude of school managements of open defiance of Government and its orders by saying, 'no body can do anything to us, we will do as we wish' was absent.

But there are also indications that the schools have not yet realised their error in treating the parents as door mats.  Here are a few examples:

(1) A particular school has been refusing to grant admission to 11th for a student who passed out of 10th standard from the very same school, getting 455 /500. The reason stated orally by the school management is that the student's parent is in the association of Parents.

(2) A particular school has been refusing admission for a child into LKG though the elder sibling of the same child is in the same school.  The reason stated by the school orally in this case also is that the parent is in the association.

(3)  A particular school has not yet granted admission to their own student from 10th to 11th though other students with lesser marks have been admitted. 

(4)  A particular school has withdrawn the bus facility to its students stating that they have taken a policy decision not to provide transport.

All the above methods are apparently to intimidate the parents and force them into submission.

The schools want to arm-twist the parents to make them pay whatever is demanded by the schools irrespective of what is determined by  the Govt.

So their apparent climb down in in-house settlement like approach on 4.6.12 obviously should have been due to pressure from the Government authorities.

Now we have to sit up and think of how to handle the intimidation of individual students and parents by singling them out/hounding them out, by school managements.

On the sidelines there are also reports that there is considerable resentment among the teaching staff of these schools that their dignity is unnecessarily being eroded by the school managements by engaging them in these non-teaching and non-academic activities.

At Delhi the All India Parents Association has organised a meet for all parents and teachers of all private schools.  

We welcome suggestions on the above.