Ryan School in the dock

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 13

A Sector 49-based educational institute is once again in the dock after a complaint against it for alleged deficiency in services that was earlier disposed of by the consumer forum without passing any order was remanded back to it, to be decided afresh on merits.

The complainants had alleged that Ryan International School was violating the Central Bureau of Secondary Education (CBSE) norms and was indulging in various commercial activities on its premises.

Taking up the complainants’ appeal, the UT Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission ruled: “The appeal is directed against the order dated September 19 rendered by the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum-II, UT, when it disposed of the complaint without passing any orders on the same. The complainants were advised to take up their grievance before the committee constituted by the High Court for the redressal of their grievances. The District Forum could not dispose of the complaint without passing any specific order therein. Under these circumstances, the appeal is liable to be accepted and the case deserves to be remanded back to the District Forum for decision on merits, one way or the other. In this view of the matter, the order impugned is liable to be set aside”

Hardesh Goyal, Rajesh Kumar, Anil Verma and Rajesh, parents of children studying at the school, had alleged that the school had opened a book shop in all its branches. Nearly three lakh children studying in these branches were made to buy stationery items, such as notebooks and copy covers, textbooks and school uniform, including coats and blazers, from these shops at skyrocketing prices, they stated.

The complainants stated the school kept changing the syllabus of every class every year, making it obligatory for parents to purchase new books. They stated as the syllabus was the standard one prescribed by the CBSE, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) textbooks were sufficient.

Also, the school was flouting the CBSE rules by not engaging competent staff and paying prescribed salaries, the complainants stated. Other issues raised by them included violation of teacher to pupil ratio, demand for donations every year and conversion of two acres of the playground into a parking area.

Ryan International School, in its reply before the forum, had denied that it was indulging in commercial activities. It stated that it was a minority unaided private school with over 100 branches all over the country. It was also stated that the complainants did not fall within the definition of consumers under the Act.

Taking up the appeal, the commission ruled that it was the duty of the District Forum to go through the version of the parties, evidence produced by them, and submissions made by their counsel, and then decide the questions as to whether the complainants fell within the definition of consumers, whether the complaint involved consumer dispute, whether the educational institute were service providers and whether the consumer complaint was maintainable or not.