Parents of Class VIII and IX students of a reputed South Mumbai school have alleged that they have been cheated by its management. While Diamond Jubilee High School in Mazgaon hasnt received affiliation to the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE),parents claim their wards may end up wasting an academic year. They have now sought help from the Maharashtra state board,state education department and also written to the Chief Justice of Bombay High Court. The matter came to light in the academic year 2011-12 when the first batch of the ICSE was promoted to Class IX and when the school had to take a one-year extension for Class IX from the state board. However,according to parents,the management has not maintained transparency over the affiliation. Another parent said,The school failed to get the affiliation,but we were never informed. We sought help from many statutory bodies,including the education department,but havent got a reply. We are left with no option but to move court. The parent added,All this while,our kids followed the ICSE syllabus and it wont be easy for them to suddenly change to SSC syllabus now as both are very different. When we raised the issue,the school offered to transfer the students to other ICSE schools. However,other schools agreed to offer admission only after tests. While many failed to clear the tests,some schools were charging high fees which we cant afford. The management claimed they are doing whatever they can to support the students. Leena Aparajit,head of education at the school,said: The affiliation process for ICSE for our school was initiated in 2008 and is underway. While city schools have been refused affiliation,we are actively engaged in a dialogue with the Council. The affiliation process can only be initiated once the school reaches Class VI. Since we could not get affiliation in the academic year 2011,we were not in a position to commence ICSE for Class IX. We spoke to other ICSE schools and they agreed to enrol our students subject to their clearing a test. We also helped the students prepare for these tests by conducting a two-week coaching camp by ICSE faculty from outside. Some of our students joined other ICSE schools,but a vast majority expressed their desire to continue with us and follow the SSC curriculum. The school has consistently kept the parents updated. But parents said the school is making false claims. We believe they were refused affiliation. We have sought information from ICSE and will then move court. B D Puri,education inspector (South),said,Parents had complained to us and we asked the management to conduct a meeting with them to discuss the status of affiliation. But nothing was done. As of now,the school has not got the affiliation and has got a one-year extension from the state board. The school is still charging fees as per its old fee structure and has even refused to take government grant as they may be wanting to continue charging fees. If students dont get through any other ICSE school,they should be encouraged to study SSC curriculum.
