Man alleges Pune's Vidya Valley School refused admission to son in Class 9 under RTE; school says fee not paid

Indian Express

2 days ago

The father of a boy studying at Vidya Valley School in Maharashtra's Pune district has alleged that his son was denied admission to Class 9 because he failed to pay the fees by the deadline, and claimed the school offered different payment options for those studying under the Right to Education (RTE) quota compared to others.
However, Shekhar Pimpalkhare, advisor to the school's board, refuted the allegations made by Vinod Jadhav, the father of Atharva Vinod Jadhav, and called his claims 'completely baseless'.
Vinod said the school administration demanded Rs 80,000, nearly half of the total fee, in May for admission to Class 9. Vinod said he could arrange only Rs 50,000 by June. The school rejected this partial payment, and demanded the complete fee of Rs 1.62 lakh as a lump sum, he added.
Atharva has been studying at Vidya Valley School since Junior KG.
'I have been requesting the school authorities since last month to accept the fee in three tranches till August, around Rs 50,000 instalment every month, but they didn't agree,' Vinod said.
'Other students were allowed to pay school fees in instalments, but we were asked to pay the total fee in one go. When we failed to gather the whole amount, my son was denied admission. I believe the school is doing this purposefully to replace RTE students with those from well-off families,' he added.
Vinod said Atharva has lost interest in his studies because he was denied admission. 'He scored 80 per cent in the final exam of Class 8,' his father said.
Vinod claimed this is not an isolated incident. He alleged that of the 30 RTE students in Class 8 at the end of the last academic year, only three were promoted to Class 9, while the rest were transferred to different schools.
He also alleged discriminatory treatment. 'In the last decade or so, there have been instances where students from particularly backward communities who are from financially strained backgrounds have received discriminatory treatment,' Jadhav said.
'But we had no choice, as this is the only school with the ICSE board in our locality.'
The Right to Education (RTE) Act mandates free and compulsory education for children between 6 to 14 years of age, covering classes up to Class 8. It requires 25 per cent of seats in private schools to be reserved for economically weaker sections and disadvantaged groups, with no fees charged up to Class 8.
However, the Act doesn't extend free education beyond Class 8, and parents have to manage the fees for higher classes.
Shekhar Pimpalkhare, the Vidya Valley School board advisor, also accused the family of attempting to defame the institution.
'We never intended to drop the student's admission, as he has already attended classes for Class 9 in April. Vinod Jadhav promised us, in a signed document, that he would pay Rs 80,000 in May, which he didn't. It is July now, and he hasn't paid even a single rupee,' Pimpalkhare told The Indian Express.
Pimpalkhare said Vinod never brought Rs 50,000 to the school, stating they have video evidence to prove it. He also said the family had requested a leaving certificate, which was issued on June 27.
'Jadhav comes from a political background, and has attempted to pressure through his connections for admission, which we had already reserved,' Pimpalkhare added.
'He has not paid the food bills, either, for the past years. If someone has not paid any amount after three months since the beginning of the academic year, what's the assurance that they will pay later? So we asked him to pay the complete amount in a lump sum.'
'His attempt now is only to gain fame and political mileage at the cost of the school's reputation. So, we have filed defamation charges against him,' he said.
Vinod started a protest Monday near the school entrance, demanding justice.
(Shubham Kurale is an intern with The Indian Express)