Parents gherao principal after school closure

Updated on: Wednesday, July 08, 2009

Kolkata: Trouble brewed at a girls school in central Kolkata for the better part of Monday as parents gheraoed the principal, seeking an explanation for the sudden closure of the school on Friday.

Lee Memorial, a 150-year-old girls school off Wellington Square, finished classes two hours before time on Friday as the premises had been let out for a wedding ceremony.

Since the closure was sudden, a large number of girls were stranded as their parents had not come to collect them.

This is a governmentaided school. "How could the authorities close it suddenly and turn the students out on the road? The state should be answerable for it. We will meet the district inspector of schools and the head of the Methodist Church that partly runs the school", said Prabir Sil, a parent.

The principal, Purnima Ghosh, had to call police, fearing an attack. "There was a mistake somewhere and I have tried to explain things to parents," she said.

For a long time, parents had been complaining about administrative laxity at the school. A couple of weeks back, a teacher lost her cellphone. She was suspicious about a few students and almost stripped a few girls naked while searching for the phone, Sil said, adding that the school had also employed labourers to repair toilets. These labourers routinely teased senior girls as they made their way to the toilet.

A police team reached the school when the students and their parents were about to put up a roadblock on Raja Subodh Mullick Square. The officers met the guardians and tried to pacify them.

The parents and the students have some grievances. We have requested the school authorities to look into the problems and address those issues. There was no law and order problem, said a senior officer of Taltala police station

Parents gherao principal after school closure

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