Era Arulothi, an Std VIII student at the Government Higher Secondary School at Thozhudur, was beaten and tortured by school authorities for failing to pay the extra school fees which they demanded.The standard fee charged at all government and government-aided schools is Rs 57.50 for standards 6, 7 and 8 and Rs 72.50 for high school. However, the government school at Thozhudur was charging a fee of Rs 160 for standards 6, 7 and 8 and Rs 175 for high school.Despite charging a higher fee, text books which are normally free of cost were denied to the students.In pursuit of justice, Human Rights activist Prof Prabha Kalvimani filed a petition with the school’s Education Director. The petition stated that action should be taken against T.R. Krishnaswamy and C. Arasu — the two teachers who had allegedly beaten and tortured the student.Kalvimani said the collection of extra fees violated the ‘‘education-for-all’’ scheme implemented by the Centre besides violating Section 26 of the International Human Rights Act. He said if justice was not done, he would file a PIL with Madras HC.
