DPS Dwarka names 21 ‘fee defaulters’ on website, parents register protest
Several parents have written to the school principal expressing their concerns regarding publishing their children’s names on the website.
3 min read
DPS Dwarka (File Photo)Delhi Public School Dwarka has published on its official website the names of 21 students and the outstanding fees their parents have to pay. Several parents The Indian Express spoke to called it a “discriminatory” move.
The Indian Express had reported Friday that more than 20 students of DPS Dwarka were allegedly not being allowed inside their classrooms since school resumed after summer vacation on July 1. Parents claimed the action followed their refusal to pay the revised fee, which they say was increased “without following Directorate of Education (DoE) norms”. They alleged their children were being “segregated” and their names had been struck off from the rolls.
On the homepage of the school’s website is a live link that states “Writ Petition number 9243/2024 with respect to the following strike-off cases”. When one clicks on the link, it opens to a list of 21 students with their names, admission numbers, class and section, parents’ names, and the fee payable per month after rebate with effect from July 2024 (without transport). The outstanding amount for all is Rs 14,216.
At the bottom of this list, the document stated, “The school reserves the right to approach the Hon’ble High Court of Delhi for clarification and/or modification, if required, of order dated 09.07.2024 passed in WP(C) 9243/2024. The said order is an interim arrangement and does not finally adjudicate the rights of the parties.”
Calls and messages to the principal of DPS Dwarka, Priya Narayanan, and DPS Society chairman B K Chaturvedi did not elicit any response over the matter.
Several parents have written to the school principal expressing their concerns regarding publishing their children’s names on the website.
One parent, in his email to Narayanan sent Friday, said, “I am expressing my serious concern regarding the publication of my daughter’s… name on the homepage of the school website, along with a few other children, as a ‘strike-off child’. This public display of my child’s name in such a context is not only deeply distressing but also a direct violation of Article 14 of the Indian Constitution, which guarantees equality before the law and protection from discrimination. She being a girl child and you being a lady principal have to be sensitive enough towards the mental, emotional, and physical well-being of a girl child.”
Another parent in their email wrote: “I would like to take strong reservations and stand against the names which are publicised on your website on the matter of fee. The act of yours is highly discriminatory against my ward… The open publication of my ward’s name is leading to open discrimination and humiliation of my ward amongst the peer group as he is being bullied in class for non-payment of unapproved fee. It may cause severe damage to the mental well-being of my ward.”
In May, the school had removed 13 other students from its rolls over non-payment of the increased fee. Then, the Directorate of Education (DoE), in a letter to the school principal, stated that “Delhi Public School… is running on land allotted by DDA under stipulated conditions in their allotment letter (and) is required to seek prior approval of the Director of Education before any fee hike.”
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