Parents enraged over school management's commercial motivesÆ

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Parents and students of St Geroge's Anglo Indian Higher Secondary School,
Shenoy Nagar, on Friday staged a demonstration inside school premises
protesting against the school management for putting their children's
education at stake by permitting more and more commercial programmes in
school campus.Æ
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The school, one of the oldest in whole Chennai city, has had a good teaching
reputation for more than a two centuries and the very same is nosediving
after head master R Paul Victor Samuel took charge few years ago, alleged
one parent, whose child is studying in seventh standard here.Æ
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Not alone the commercial motives, problems like unqualified teachers, bad
maintenance of the school premises, poor sanitation facilities for students,
non-availability of physical education training facilities and failure to
conduct regular parent-teacher meetings, forced the parents to stage a
protest inside school.Æ
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Tense moments prevailed for an hour when the parents blocked the main
enterance gate of the school, which (also) facilitates main entry point for
the famed Chennai Book Fair, being organised here for the second consecutive
year.Æ
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Policemen posted infront of the gate could not able to understand what is
going on, and Assistant Commissioner of Police M Rajamoney intervened at
right time and pacifed the agitating crowd of nearly 100 parents.Æ
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One of the parents requesting anonymity told Express that, ``The school is
collecting fees for computer course, but not a single lesson on it have been
taught to our children.''Æ
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``Like (unjustified) fees for computer course, they also collect maintenance
fees to make all classrooms and lawn clean. Can you believe this I had to
clean a few classrooms while the school was reopened this season, as staff
meant for it don't care about cleanliness'', another parent alleged.Æ
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Not less than five to six commercial events including marriage receptions
are being organised every month that too during school hours itself, and
that itself shows that the management is just to mint money and not
interested in providing quality education, he further added.Æ
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When this correspondent met the head master Samuel for reaction on these
allegations, he not only denied all these are basless, said it was just to
defame the good image of the school.Æ
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He further said, ``We are not after money as the management has huge funds
to run its day-today activities.I have not received any complaint regarding
this so for and certainly look into it if the parents give it in writing.''Æ
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Suggested boxÆ
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Parent-management meet on Jan 21Æ
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Correspondent of the school, G K Francis has said that in view of these
allegations and subsequent agitation inside school premises, a meeting
between parents and school management/teachers will be held on January 21 at
4 p.m.Æ
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He said this while pacifying the parents at the venue and assured all the
parents that things would be sorted out at the meet.Æ
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