Ryan drops undertaking; fresh plaint against Mount Carmel

Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, April 18

Ryan International School, Sector 49, withdrew the undertaking it sought from parents, restricting them from interacting with the media, after it appeared before the Chandigarh Commission for Protection of Child Rights (CCPCR) today.

The child rights commission yesterday summoned Ryan International School, Sector 49, and Mount Carmel School, Sector 47, for seeking indemnity bond from parents, after a complaint was received in this regard.

While Ryan had admitted that it took an undertaking from parents as a means to enforce discipline, Mount Carmel denied seeking any such undertaking.

Complaint against Mount Carmel School

Complainant Nitin Goyal, president of the Chandigarh Parents’ Association, has now filed a complaint against Mount Carmel for “misleading” the commission in the matter pertaining to the undertaking from parents.

Goyal said: “Earlier, I had only complained against the school’s demand for the undertaking, but the matter is even serious now as the school has lied and misled the commission, which is a serious offence. Hence, the principal of Mount Carmel School deserves to be prosecuted under Section 340 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.”

The undertaking deemed interaction with press an anti-social activity and threatened the parents that if they share any information with a third party or the media regarding any matter against the school, the school may strike off the names of their children.

After Mount Carmel was asked to submit a reply regarding seeking the undertaking, it changed its stand and issued a circular to all parents stating that it was not mandatory to sign the undertaking.

According to the complainant, the school had attached handwritten notes in the students’ diaries to get the undertaking signed.

Thereafter, when the commission took cognizance of the matter and sent a notice to Mount Carmel School, the school management collected the students’ diaries and struck out the line regarding the undertaking and mentioned it to be “cancelled”, along with the signatures of the teachers concerned.

However, Mount Carmel School Principal Earnest Charles was unavailable for comments.