Irked over odd school shifts,parents threaten to move education department

A parent on the condition of anonymity said,“There are 120 seats in KG. However,the management admitted 350 additional students. They take classes in three shifts,of three-and-a-half hour each. The first shift starts at 7 am and ends at 10.30 am,second shift is from 11am to 2.30 pm and the third shift from 3.30 to 7 pm.”“How can they conduct a session for KG students till 7 pm. The school was proposing to conduct full- day classes on Saturday and Sunday.” If they go on with the plan,we will file a complaint against the management with the education department.”

The school has 1,600 students in its primary section and 1,600 students in secondary section,excluding the KG section. Besides this,the school also runs junior college in the evening in the same building.

The school management said by admitting additional students,they only wanted to accommodate poor and underprivileged students.

Schhol trustee J N Bhuta said,“We do not conduct interviews for admission,neither do we take donations. We don’t advocate fee hikes. The only motive was to accommodate poor and underprivileged children. We had taken feedback from parents and they asked us to stop conducting classes in three shifts. So now we will have only two shifts.”

Education Inspector (western zone) P R Pawar said,“ We are aware of the fact that the management was trying to accommodate underprivileged children in that area. I don’t think it’s a bad initiative. The kindergarten does not come under our purview but the classes for KG can be conducted up to maximum 4 pm. However,if parents are inconvenienced due to the shifts,we would inquire into the issue and talk to the management on Monday.”