School withholds SLC certificate for not paying dues

UDAYAPUR, Aug 27: Students who passed their School Leaving Certificate (SLC) four years ago should currently be undergraduate students. But Bhim Bahadur Maji of Katari, who passed his SLC four years ago, has not been able to pay his dues and the school has withheld his certificate, without which he can´t pursue higher studies.



A ward of Janta Higher Secondary School in Tribeni in 2007, Maji comes from a poor farming family and has no means of paying the school bill worth Rs 1,500.[break]



“I cleared my SLC with the help of second-hand books handed down by my seniors. Where will I find Rs 1,500 to pay the school and take my certificate,” questioned Maji who suppressed his desire after he could not find resources to fund his education.



With no means to pursue education, he had no choice but to help his family who has a hard time earning two square meals a day. “When I see my friends going to college I want to go with them but I feel I am not as lucky as them,” he laments.



When Janmukhi Higher Secondary School in Hardeni VDC too hiked its fees, many students from the area went to other schools in different places. Pratikchya Raut confesses that she is forced to study in the same school despite it charging Rs 3,750 for the certificate. On the other hand, Pashupati Higher Secondary School of Aaptar VDC in Jyamire Danda charges Rs 5,400 for issuing the certificate.



In the recent years, despite many higher secondary schools opening in villages, whose fees vary as per the management´s whim, students have not been able to pick subjects they are interested in, said Deepak Rai, a parent. When school principals were questioned, they said the fees were decided by the school management.



The parents complain that even though these schools charge unreasonable fees, the departments concerned have turned a blind eye towards them.



According to District Education official Khadananda Parajuli, a school cannot charge more than Rs 200 for the provisional certificate. There have been complaints from students about the high fees taken by the school and this is being investigated, he said.



One reason why the schools are charging such high fees could be the fact that some of them have just recently been upgraded to Higher Secondary schools and have no means of income as they have stopped getting aid from the government, said a teacher from Garash.

Related story

PM Oli, former PMs Dahal and Nepal hand over dubious certificat...