SHILLONG, July 14 - A good number of students from one of the oldest and well-known schools in the State Capital here allegedly can�t sing the National Anthem and school notices are sent through social apps, instead of being posted on the school notice board.
Parents of St Peter�s School students have made these allegations before the Deputy Commissioner Peter S Dkhar and wants authorities to take action.
They have alleged that the school doesn�t have a Notice Board and messages are sent through Facebook and WhatsApp. �Not all parents are familiar with social applications like Facebook and WhatsApp. The authorities should continue with the Notice board messages,� one of the parents who met the DC said.
There are several grievances with which the parents claimed to have wanted to have a meeting with the Principal Patrick Thorose, which was turned down.
The parents have further alleged that the school doesn�t have computers, but, students pay Rs 3,500 annually for computer classes. �No practical computer classes are held, but students are nonetheless being asked to pay the fees,� another parent said.
�Issues like students not knowing or are unable to sing the National Anthem or having no Notice Board can be resolved between the parents and the school authorities. I have asked the parents to meet the Principal and give their grievances in writing,� Dkhar said.
The 47-year-old school was partially gutted in a fire in April this year. Authorities later found 14 gas cylinders in the gutted site. The authorities said the inferno was caused due to an electric short circuit.
The school is under repair and classes are being held at an adjacent complex erratically. The school has about 400 students. �The number of students in the school has gone down because of the quality of education and the administration,� another parent alleged.
