Authorities of Don Bosco English medium school, Vejalpur, have handed leaving certificates (LCs) to students who have not done well in the final examination.
While the authorities claimed they are hard pressed as they have permission from the government to run only two sections, parents and students are left in the lurch.
Requesting anonymity, a teacher with the primary section of the school said, "We have three sections till Class 8. And, Class 9 onwards, the school is under grant-in-aid and has only two sections. It's because of this and capacity issue, we have to promote students based on their merit. If the government permits us to run one more section, we will accommodate our students who have been awarded LC."
A notice board of the school read: "It is decided that the students who are qualified for Standard 9 should secure with minimum marks with grade C to get eligible for admission."
A parent, requesting anonymity, said, "If they know the issue, they should not admit more students till Class 8 or rather give them warning in beginning of the year. Giving LC suddenly makes things difficult for students."
Commenting on the issue, Pooja Prajapati, the president of Parents Ekta Manch, said, "This is a smart way to earn money. By terming students weak and giving them LC, schools are ensuring vacant seats and to fill those seats, they will give new admissions and charge donation. This is a wrong practice. Under any circumstance, schools should make students pass with grace marks so that their morale does not come down. In this situation, where will students go?"
State education minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama said, "No school can give LC to students because they are weak. Their job is to work on weak students and help them improve. As far as the number of section is concerned, I will look into the matter."
DNA tried to reach DEO Navneet Mehta through call and SMS, but there was no response.
WHAT’S IN STORE?
- A notice board of the school read: “It is decided that the students who are qualified for class 9 should secure minimum marks with grade C to get eligible for admission.”
- Education minister said, “No school can give LC to students because they are weak. Their job is to work on weak students and help them improve.”
