Principal, mgmt members of Universal School booked for harassing students

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Following the directives of the court, the principal and members of management of Universal High School (UHS) were booked with MIDC Cidco Police Station due to mental and physical harassment of students.

The UHS which is located in the Chikalthana area, has been in discussions for three years about disputes with parents.

The accused include Principal Seema Gupta, chairman of the schools education society (Mumbai) Jesus Sudhir LalL, vice-chairman Dhavni Jesus Lall, treasurer Rupa Suresh Dattani, co-treasurer Neelam Sudhir Lall, member Pinky Jai Pujara, secretary Ritu Chirag Patel, member Suresh Dattani, management representative Kalpesh Phalsamkar, manager Shibin Krishnan and Universal High School.

The Deputy Director of Education (DDE) and the Education Officer (EO) filed a complaint at the MIDC Cidco Police Station regarding the mental and physical harassment of the children in the school.

As the police refused to register a case, the parents approached the Aurangabad bench of Bombay High Court.

With the orders of HC, a case was registered against 11 accused on September 11. As per the complaint, children admitted to the school were being harassed for fees. When the parents raised their voices against it, some students were removed from the school. Parents sought help from the EO and DDE against it.

Even after giving written instructions to the school, the students and parents were subjected to mental and physical harassment. “This created fear in the minds of the children. Their mental health has also been affected due to humiliating behaviour in the school,” this was stated in the complaint. PSI Jagannath Menkudale under the guidance of Police Inspector Gajanan Kalyankar is conducting further probe in this case.

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Govt withdrew permission; court grants stay

The school had a dispute with parents for the past few years.

The EO and DDE received many complaints from parents against the school.

On the basis of the complaints, the Education Officer and Deputy Director made an inquiry. These officers recommended the cancellation of the school's recognition to the Director of Education for not following RTE and other rules.

The Director of Education informed the State Government which cancelled the approval of the school on November 9, 2023. EOJayashree Chavan said the school moved the court against the decision. The court granted a stay on recognition cancellation orders.