A tense standoff between a group of parents and the authorities of St Lawrence High School in Kolkata was resolved on Wednesday following police intervention. The parents had accused the school of withholding their sons' report cards until they paid for alleged damages.
Protest Over Unnecessary Charges
A section of parents protested for over an hour against what they termed as unjustified charges imposed on Class X students under the guise of compensation for property damage. Many parents, whose sons had appeared for the ICSE examination, received a message on Tuesday instructing them to collect the results between 8:30 am and 9:30 am on Wednesday.
Parent Malkeet Singh alleged, "When we arrived at the school, parents were asked to stay outside while our children were allegedly asked to pay Rs 500 or Rs 1,000 as a penalty for property damage, or else the marksheet would not be handed over."
Specific Allegations
Bidisha Saha, another parent, stated, "There are 42 students on the Class X list in Section A who were told to pay between Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 as a penalty. They prepared similar lists for other sections as well. Many paid the fine without raising any queries, but many of us wanted clarification. No one was there to give a proper answer, so we called the police."
Nianjal Mukherjee added, "We demanded video footage, but the school authorities claimed the incident happened at least two months ago and were unable to provide any proof." Another parent questioned how a reputed school could withhold board results for this reason without proper evidence.
Impact on Students
Rajni Kaur, whose son's result was withheld, said, "My son scored 78%, but the school is still tight-lipped about his admission, while his classmates who scored around 50% have already been admitted. This is ridiculous."
Resolution After Police Intervention
After police from Ballygunge Police Station arrived, the agitating parents finally received their sons' results without paying any penalty. TOI attempted to get a reaction from the school authorities, but the school principal, Fr M Benny Thomas, could not be reached.
