UP: School Principal Forced Students to Sit Outside in Sun for 'Unpaid Fees'

Siddharthnagar (UP): A school principal in Siddharthnagar, Uttar Pradesh, has faced backlash after a video emerged showing him making over 50 students sit outside the school gate in the scorching sun. The reason? Unpaid fees by their parents.

The video, filmed at Shyamraji High School in Itwa, shows young students huddled together on the dusty path leading to the school. The principal, Shailesh Kumar Tripathi, can be heard reprimanding the parents for not paying fees and threatening to bar entry to future defaulters.

District authorities to investigate

The video has gone viral on social media, drawing attention from the public and education officials. The district inspector of schools has termed the incident 'shameful' and announced an investigation into the school's registration and plans for appropriate action.

Principal Defends Himself

In his defence, Mr. Sailesh Kumar Tripathi claims he had to resort to this extreme measure because of outstanding fees ranging from ₹10,000 to lakhs per student. He apologised for any discomfort caused but insists he had no choice due to pressure from the bank and the financial strain caused by unpaid dues.

UP School Principal Punished Students for Unpaid Fees

Mr. Tripathi clarified that while the students were made to sit outside for only two minutes to film the video, he maintains that repeated reminders to parents had gone unanswered. He claims the video was meant to be shared only within the parents' group but was leaked on social media.

The local authorities launched the investigation after the school kids' video went viral.

Recently, the Supreme Court ordered IIT Dhanbad to admit an 18-year-old Dalit student who missed the deadline for paying the admission fee by just three minutes due to a server failure. Rs 17,500. That's the fee that a Dalit student had to pay to secure his admission.