NO DONATIONS FOR KG I & II ADMISSIONS

PANJIM: A school in Panjim has written to a parent that it will now not take donations for admissions to pre-primary.  The parent, one Kashinath Shetye, had recently filed an application before the Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) at Panjim raising the issue of illegal collection of donations by schools at the time of admissions.

The court in turn had issued notices to the police and education department.

In the letter to Shetye, officials of one of the capital city's well-known schools, wrote: "We are advertising in newspapers that there will be no donation for pre-primary by the end of this week (sic)."

They further said that they would refund the money that they had taken from him as donation.

Shetye had approached the JMFC alleging that though he had written to the police and the education department to take action against schools that take donations and had sought that an FIR be lodged, no action had been taken by authorities.

In his application before the JMFC, Shetye had requested the court to direct the police to register an FIR and to investigate the matter and persons concerned properly.

In the letter to Shetye, the school's authorities admitted that they had started taking a "non-refundable donation" of 10,000 for the academic year 2010-2011 from students who sought admissions to nursery, KG I and KG II in the school. The school further admitted to collecting 10,000 for admissions to nursery, KG I and KG II in the school in the past too, but said that the amount was refundable.

The school has further stated in its letter to Shetye that the "fees of pre-primary schools are not yet regularized by the education department and managements are free to charge donations to give better infrastructure. The list of rates of fees to be charged are sent to the government for approval for primary school. The fees are increased by minimum 10% per year so that teachers are paid yearly increments".

Incidentally, Shetye in his application to the court said that this is not a stray incident of a school accepting donation but appears to be a rampant practice followed by various schools in the state.

"It is not uncommon that schools hold parents to ransom with processes of screening students and their parents and demanding payments of capitation fee, deposit and/or donation for grant of admission. The same is most illegal and must be stopped at the earliest. Therefore necessary action is warranted against errant schools," his application states. Shetye has further referred to Section 13 of the Right to Education Act, 2009 stating that the Act mandates that no school or person shall while admitting a child collect any capitation fee and subject the child or parents to any screening procedure. However, when his son sought admission to a government-aided school in Panaji this year, his son, wife and he were put through the screening process, Shetye alleged.

He also claimed that the school demanded that he pay capitation fees in the form of donation of 10,000 to the school and it was also made clear to him that the admission of his son to the school would be subject to the payment thereof. Shetye alleged that he was forced to pay the amount and a receipt for payment as donation towards "trust fund and education infrastructure fund". Now the school authority has asked him to get the original receipt and refund the amount.

Shetye has pointed out that Section 19 of the Goa School Education Act places a clear, unambiguous and unequivocal embargo on such demands for money by schools prior to admission and also prohibits the school from screening children or parents and from demanding capitation fees. The matter will be heard by JMFC on Tuesday. (TNN)