Students at Ryan school branch in Navi Mumbai reveal their ordeals

Ankur Tyagi

There seems to be no end to controversy over Ryan school. The latest to get in trouble is Panvel’s St Joseph School, which is a branch of Ryan. Some students of the school have alleged discriminatory behaviour by school administration over the issue of fee hike.

They have alleged that the students, whose parents complained over sudden fee hike, were facing discriminatory behaviour by teachers. The students further alleged that some students were beaten up mercilessly and one of the girls also suffered a fracture in her hand.

On November 11, the girl, Vishakha, went to the Khandeshwar police station with her father and lodged a complaint against the school. According to the complaint, she was hit so hard for not bringing a notebook that she suffered a fracture.

The cops initially refused to file a complaint, but then the parents of the child brought medical report and they registered an FIR against the school administration.

Students from class 5 to class 10, whose parents were part of the protest against fee hike, have even been put in a separate section. Besides, they were not even issued ID cards for days, and neither were their copies checked properly.

The students were not even allowed to participate in sporting activities while their parents were never called for parent-teacher meeting.

According to the students, the schools holds two prayer sessions in morning – one for those paying the fees without issues, and another for those protesting against the fee hike.

Zee News accessed a copy of the prayer that the second group of students recite in the morning assembly. It talks about god giving wisdom to parents of the students.

In another shocking action, one of the teachers locked a student named Rushi Kadam in a classroom for at least half-an-hour.

When contacted, Khandeshwar police station DCP Dilip Mane refused to divulge any information related to the case on camera. The school administration also refused to comment on the issue.

The issue of fee hike is pending before the Education Department, and the school has been directed to continue teaching the students till a final decision is taken. However, the parents have now sought the help of the Child Rights Protection Society.