NCPCR issues notice to Sri Vidhya Vihar School over transfer certificate dispute
Hyderabad: The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has issued a notice to Sri Vidhya Vihar School in Annojiguda following allegations that the school responded to parents who questioned its irregularities by issuing transfer certificates to students.
The controversy emerged when the parents of a student who was issued a transfer certificate based on false allegations filed an online complaint with the NCPCR and the Chairman of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) against the administration of Sri Vidhya Vihar School. The complaint was formally submitted through the Know Your Rights NGO.
While speaking to the Hyderabad Mail, Srikhande Umesh Kumar, an RTI activist and Founder of Know Your Rights NGO, explained the situation stating, “We filed a complaint against Sri Vidhya Vihar School in Annojiguda, Medchal-Malkajgiri on June 21. After not receiving a response for several days, I followed up with IT Support and subsequently received the complaint status on July 19. This indicates that the NCPCR issued the notice on July 8, and the Medchal-Malkajgiri collector is expected to submit an action report to the Commissioner within one week.”
Umesh Kumar expressed uncertainty about the complaint’s progress, saying, “We learned of the complaint status yesterday but are unsure whether any action has been taken. We are awaiting the action report from the Medchal-Malkajgiri collector.”
“Earlier, Srikanth, a parent, told Hyderabad Mail, “The school falsely accused me and issued a transfer certificate for my child because I objected to their practices regarding the sale of books, uniforms, and excessive fees. Other parents who questioned the school management also faced false accusations and received transfer certificates.”
According to Srikanth, “Sri Vidhya Vihar CBSE School in Annojiguda, Pocharam municipality, mandates that parents purchase all books, stationery, and uniforms exclusively from the school. The books, which are from private publishers, are priced over ten times higher than NCERT books recommended by the CBSE board and used by Kendriya Vidyalayas and other CBSE schools.”
Received this today. But the date mentioned on the notice is 8/07/2024. As per the @NCPCR_ notice, within 7 days ATR has to be submitted to the Commission.
Dear @Collector_MDL did you submit the ATR? CHILDREN’s future is at stake.@aadabhyd @TSEduDept @NeelimaEaty https://t.co/OHG9dA1guc pic.twitter.com/EE4xlsDHnZ— Srikhande Umesh Kumar (@srikhande_umesh) July 19, 2024
He further disclosed, “The school charges an annual fee of Rs. 10,000 per student and insists on payment before issuing books. Additionally, they collect an admission fee of Rs. 10,000, a caution deposit of Rs. 5,000, and an application fee of Rs. 1,000 without providing receipts. Payments are transferred to individual private persons’ PhonePe or Google Pay accounts, with details noted on plain paper handed to parents.”
