SWAP Condoles the bereavement of Shri. M. Karunagaran, District Collector, Coimbatore.

WITH A HEAVY HEART WE CONDOLE THE SUDDEN DEMISE OF SMT. HEMA KARUNAGARAN, DEPUTY COMMISSIONER OF POLICE, COIMBATORE ON 4.11.2012.  OUR HEART FELT CONDOLENCES TO HER HUSBAND SHRI. M. KARUNAGARAN, OUR BELOVED DISTRICT COLLECTOR, TO THEIR CHILDREN AND TO THEIR FAMILY MEMBERS.  MAY HER SOUL REST IN PEACE.

THIS CITY WILL EVER REMEMBER THE SERVICES OF THIS GOOD INTENTIONED POLICE OFFICER WHO WAS EVER WILLING TO HELP PEOPLE IN DISTRESS.

MAY GOD GRANT HER SENSITIVE HUSBAND AND HER YOUNG CHILDREN THE COURAGE TO FACE THIS TRAGEDY.

All India Conference of Parents Association to be held at Delhi on 13.1.2013

All India Parents Association (AIPA) will be organizing its Ist All India Conference on Sunday the 13th January 2013 at Gandhi Peace Foundation Hall, Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg, near ITO, New Delhi, to push for its Three major demands namely 

1. Need for a Central legislation for regulating Fee and Other Charges in unaided 
private schools.( National Law to Regulate Fee in unaided private schools)

2. Provision for minimum of 50% representation to the parents in the School 
management committees in unaided private schools.

3. Upgrading the standard of all government, municipal or schools run by any other 
authority to the minimum standard equivalent to the level of Kendriya Vidhyalaya 
(Central Schools).

We would like participation from all States/ Districts.

Those who are interested to participate in the conference may register. 
The timings of the conference and the registration Information will be provided in tomorrows release
Any suggestion may be forwarded at isgambhir@gmail.com,
or contact 9810133325

ABHIMANYUS AND ARJUNAS

OF ABHIMANYUS FIRST:

        

A 15 year old boy passes his matric exam with flying colours.  He scores 91%.  He is happy, his parents are happy.  His friends of the same class are all given admission into the 11^th on the very day of results or on the very next day – even those who have scored lesser – in his own school.  But in his case, the school says ‘we do not want to give admission to you because your father is one of the members of the Parents’ Association’. 

The Parents’ Association approaches the Principal. He gives a cold shoulder.  After repeated pleas, a representation is made to the District Collector, Chief Educational Officer and Inspector of Matriculation Schools.  An enquiry is ordered. 

When the Inspector of matriculation schools visits the concerned school, the management parades almost all the teachers, armed with separate letters, addressed to the Inspector of Matriculation Schools, stating that the behaviour of the concerned student was bad.  Reason for their not taking action earlier was that they did were waiting for him to complete his Matric.  Among the accusations about character were that he used to disturb his pals in the class; he used to disturb others standing around him during assembly, during prayer, even during playing of national anthem; he used to back-answer to teachers; he used to be rough; he was using his father’s post (father works as a courier in a Bank), he did not listen in the class; he showed ugly signs to some female teacher; because of him another female teacher had resigned from the school, etc. (Incidently the Times of India had verified this allegation and had reported that the Teacher concerned had told them that the student was in fact an excellent student)  The accusations would look like the boy was a monster. And even one of the said acts, had they actually been performed, in a private school, that too a Christian Institution at that, would not have been tolerated (quite rightly) and the parent would have been summoned and reprimanded and if repeated would have been entered in the progress card or the diary of the student.  No such thing had happened.  Further, the Inspector of Matriculation School had also quite conscientiously conducted an enquiry with the other class mates of the student.  They all refuted the contentions of the management-tutored-statements of their teachers.  Accordingly, the IMS issues a letter to the school management stating that their accusation against the student lacks evidence on enquiry and that considering the attendance of the student and his percentage of marks he may be considered for admission in the same school.

There is silence from the side of the management.  Since it had already been almost 3 weeks since the classes had started and nothing was yet known regarding the decision of the management of the school, the Parents’ Association decided to meet the Principal before once again taking up the matter with the State administration.  This time, to give moral support to these parents, the Parents’ Association representatives of other schools in the city and particularly in the vicinity decide to meet the Parent of the said boy outside the school. 

But there is a battalion of Police posted on the outskirts of the school to prevent the parents from even standing and talking there.  Upon stating that the SWAP had made a complaint to the Commissioner of Police on the issue and that we were also interested in knowing the outcome of the issue, the Inspector assures to know the same from the Principal.  He takes the Parents of the boy, the student and one representative of the Parents’ Association of the school and meets the Principal.  All this happens after the children have gone to their classes after their morning assembly.  The Principal refusing to give any clear cut answer, merely states that he has already replied to the IMS.

There after the parents representatives decide to meet the District Collector again. 

In the meanwhile, it is reported that after the Parents left the place, a battalion of teaching or non-teaching staff started abusing the gathered media persons, from within the campus and it is also stated that some of these visuals had been aired.

In the meanwhile, not knowing what to do, the Parent is advised by his well wishers to approach the Hon’ble High Court on a writ. And upon knowing that the school was not going to reconsider their decision, he gives a go ahead to his advocate to file the Writ in the Court.

The High Court admits the petition and issues notice to the Government and the concerned school.

In the meanwhile, the IMS who gets the reply of the school, finds that the school had given fresh conditions for admitting the student.  They wanted an undertaking from the Parents’ Association and the Parent of the student that there will not be any ‘interference’ from them in the administration of the school.  The demand against the so called ‘interference’ was nothing but a blatant demand that there should not be any questions about whatever fees the school shall determine in violation of the Act and Rules framed by the Government for the purpose – because the Parents’ Association it self had been formed only due to this dispute.

In the High Court the school reiterates all the allegations against the character of the student which they had made before the IMS and also show case the letters given by all the teachers on the same day.  They also allege misbehaviour on the part of the Parent and the Parents’ Association.  They plead that due to these they were not able to run the school at all.  The school which had no qualms in demanding higher fees than that was determined, in spite of an Act of Legislature and Rules framed by the Government and the specific injunction against such action, issued by the District Collector in his meeting on 10.3.2012, however had no qualms in claiming that the mere presence of some parents outside the gates of the school to the grieving student and his parents a moral support was a ‘demonstration’ or a ‘dharna’ against the injunctions of the District Collector in the very same meeting and that the peace and tranquility of their institution was disturbed.

And the Hon’ble High Court’s Honourable Judge who heard the matter swallowed the entire tale put forth by the School.  It was not even asked how the final decision of the school in the matter was stated to have been taken on the very day the Principal was filing the counter affidavit and how such a decision could be taken on that date, when the matter was already sub-judice.

The Government Pleader who also had received notice in the case, who ought to have got the matters verified with the District Collector or CEO of the District, did not find it fit to put forth before the Honourable Court that the administration of the District and Education department had found that the allegations were without substance.  In fact the IMS had clearly stated in his letter to the school that their condition regarding Association not ‘interfering’ with administration of the school was a clear contradiction in terms of their earlier position.  This fact also the Government Pleader failed to put forth before the Judge.

The claim of the school that the Parents’ Association was a rebel body and that it was functioning in spite of an official PTA functioning in the school, which was a blatant lie, was also not countered by the State’s PP.

The Court also did not go into why there would be a Rebel body, particularly of Parents and even if it existed, whether constitutionally it was incorrect for adults to form associations in the society, etc.

There was no attempt to verify the allegation of the School that these poor parents wielded great influence with the Police.

Result was that the Hon’ble High Court in dismissing the petition of the parent on behalf of the student came down heavily on the character of the student, the Parent and justified the action of the School.  All this apart from their holding that even other wise the Miniority Institutions were free to decide on Admissions on their own.

If anyone thought that such a ‘Chackra Vyuha’ of a legal system would not have been engineered in this country against a tender youth of 15 years, that ‘maharathas’ with legal acumen would be arrayed against him and law will be a mute witness in the execution, they are wrong.  It has happened in the present age and the student is from Coimbatore.

No one involved in the episode, for a moment appears to have considered what respect the young mind would have for our system of justice and jurispudence, in his future years of life.

AND ON ARJUNAS NOW:

          If some one thought that only novice of our legal system could be felled like this, they are wrong. 

Even when a Senior Advocate of the High Court who was to go to the Supreme Court to file a case – a public interest petition – was brutally beaten up and maimed, after more than a decade of proceedings, the Hon’ble judicial system has not been able to lay its hands on the persons who had perpetuated such a heinous crime - against one of their own officers.

Reacting to this, the victim himself a great legal luminary stated:  “There is always a divine punishment which one cannot escape”.

If these are indications for the times to come, the dark ages are back again.

NCPCR ASSURES TO INTERVENE

WE HAD BEEN REQUESTING THE INTERVENTION OF THE NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR PROTECTION OF CHILD RIGHTS (NCPCR) IN THE MATTER RELATED TO COERCION, ILL-TREATMENT AND DISCRIMINATION OF CHILDREN TO MAKE THEIR PARENTS PAY EXTRA FEES THAN THAT HAS BEEN DETERMINED BY THE FEE DETERMINATION COMMITTEE.  WE HAVE BEEN OF CONSISTENT VIEW THAT THESE TACTICS BY THE SCHOOLS WERE A BREACH OF FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS, HUMAN RIGHTS AND CHILD RIGHTS.  TO OUR GREAT RELIEF AND JOY, A MEMBER OF THE NCPCR HAS SOUGHT COMPLAINTS ON THE ABOVE ISSUES.  THE ADDRESS TO WHICH THE COMPLAINTS ARE TO BE SENT ARE GIVEN IN THE LINK : http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=432601220093930&set=a.203522466335141.45811.118933758127346&type=1&theater.  

MEMBERS ARE REQUESTED TO GIVE WIDE COVERAGE.

All India Conference on Abolishing Commercialisation of Education and Building Common School system

Please see the following link on the Conference to be held at Chennai on 30th of June and 1st of July 2012.

http://www.thisconference.com/index.php?option=com_sobi2&sobi2Task=sobi2Details&sobi2Id=8946&Itemid=63

OH LORD! PLEASE SAVE OUR CHILDREN

“Probably the principles and the elements, on which the regular gravitations of the moral, as of the material, world depend, had complained.  Smoking blood, over-filled cemeteries, mothers in tears, - these are formidable pleaders.  When the earth is suffering from too heavy a burden, there are mysterious groanings of the shades, to which the abyss lends an ear.”

These prophetic words are not by any Indian mythological author, justifying any Avathar.   

They are from Victor Hugo. 

Let us read a little more to get to the context.

“It was time that this vast man should fall.

The excessive weight of this man in human destiny disturbed the balance.  This individual alone counted for more than a universal group.  These plethoras of all human vitality concentrated in a single head; the world mounting to the brain of one man,- this would be mortal to civilization were to last.  The moment had arrived for the incorruptible and supreme equity to alter its plan.”

Was he talking about Ravana?

No, but of a similar superior being – Napoleon Bonaparte.

He himself explains it: 

“Was it possible that Napoleon should have won that battle?  We answer No.  Why? Because of Wellington?  Because of Blucher? No.  Because of God.”

These words have become true again and again in history whenever some power becomes too much intoxicated, self-indulgent and merciless towards other living beings. 

Rabindranath Tagore states:  

“Power can be measured.  Its volume, its weight, its momentum can all be brought within the purview of mathematics  So it is the endeavour of those who hold Power to be supreme, to increase in bulk.  They would repeatedly multiply numbers, - the number of men, the number of coins, the number of appliances.  When they strive for success they sacrifice others’ wealth, others’ rights, others’ lives; for sacrifice is the essence of the cult of Power; and the earth is running red with the blood of that sacrifice.

.....

 

But when engaged in adding up the quantities of these forces and facts of Power, we do not find them to be an ever-increasing series.  In our pursuit of the principle of accumulation we are all of a sudden held up by stumbling upon the principle of check which bars the way.  We discover that there is not only onward motion, but there are also pauses.  And we repeatedly find in history that whenever the blindness of Power has tried to overrule this rule of rhythm, it has committed suicide.  And that is why man still remembers the story of the toppling over the Tower of Babel.”

But unfortunately these words of wisdom do not appear to have dawned on the community of ‘Private Educational Institutions’ in our Country (particularly in the state and Coimbatore).

If endowed even with a bit of this elementary knowledge, a great school of the city running under the banner of ‘Universal Compassion’ would not have failed to admit into the 11th Standard, its own student who has passed out of Matriculation with 455 marks out of 500 and who had been studying in their own school for the past 12 years (from LKG).  Though students with lesser marks have been admitted, the reason for not granting a seat for their own student, orally told by them is ‘the father of the student is a member of the Parents’ Association’.

Is forming a Parents’ Association bad? Is it unlawful?  Is the fundamental right enshrined in the Constitution as Right to form associations subject to scrutiny and denial by these powers that be?

Even if in their opinion, the Parent has committed a heinous crime by becoming a member of the Parents’ Association (which is again because there is no official PTA constituted by the school itself) is the student to be abused like this?  What care these people of ‘education’ have for the mental trauma that the student will face (barely 14 years).  What cruel mind set can bring upon such a situation where the student has to remain at home without knowing his future and fate, when his friends have started attending classes for the past one week.  And what respect do these SELF-PROCLAIMED- philanthropists and educationists expect from the students and society at large?

That they have displayed utter disregard for Government authority and public authority is another matter.

How much more does the society have to endure to save its children from such mindless madness of ‘power-intoxicated-money-laundering-menace’ called private education?

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.