Private school in Delhi locks up 16 kindergarten kids in the basement for not paying fees

A particularly harsh punishment was doled out to 16 kindergarten students in a private girls' school in Delhi for not paying the fees. The children were apparently locked up in a dingy basement for five hours.

The incident occurred at Rabea Girls’ Public School in Delhi’s Chandni Chowk area on Monday. According to a report in the Times Of India, when parents of these little girls went to pick them up, they were not in their classroom. Upon inquiry, they were told that they were in the basement and had not been allowed to attend class since they had not paid the fees.

The parents rushed to the basement and found the kids locked in a room that had been bolted from the outside. The parents alleged that their daughters were left in the poorly ventilated room that didn’t even have a fan in this blistering Delhi heat for five hours (7.30AM to 12.30PM). Shabeem Hasan, a complainant, also said that a few kids had to be taken to the hospital.

The principal, Farah Diba, however, denied the allegation and told ANI that the room was a “recreation room” and that the fan had gone for repairs that day. She also claimed that the children were kept under the supervision of two teachers. However, the children told the police that there were no teachers in the room.

Parents also claimed that they had, in fact, paid the fees and even had receipts, but school authorities said they had no way of knowing the fees had been paid as the teachers had not been given the ‘slips’ that would confirm the same.

An FIR was lodged at the Hauz Qazi police station later on Monday for illegal confinement under Section 75 of the Juvenile Justice Act. The Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights has also reportedly set up an inquiry.

Representative image used.