St. Mary’s High School in Kalina harassed a 12-year-old boy for four months over non-payment of fees. The management even barred the Std VIII student from taking his exams this January, as they did not get the fee of Rs 18,000 at one go, the mother said. The family has been struggling financially as his father, the breadwinner, is battling TB, she added. 

The mother told mid-day that her husband, a tuberculosis (TB) patient, worked as a driver for a living. The family has been struggling financially since the past two years, when it was first diagnosed, but his health deteriorated a few months back and their income stopped. She had requested the school for some time to pay the fees, but the management refused and made her 12-year-old son sit outside the classroom for four months, the mother alleged.