The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) has fined Doon Valley International Public School, Himachal Pradesh for not issuing transfer certificate on time to a class IX student. As a result, the student has lost an academic year due to the delay. It directed the school to pay Rs. 50,000 to the student.

Headed by presiding member S M Kantikar, NCDRC upheld the decision of the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (SCDRC) to impose Rs. 50,000 cost on the school. Ravleen Kaur, a class IX student had approached the school in 2005 for a transfer certificate, which was not granted to her on time and the school added that she was poor at studies.

The panel noted that the school’s contention on Kaur’s academic performance had no relation with issuing a factually correct school leaving certificate and that it was nobody’s case to show her as a “good student” in the transfer certificate. It said the school could have acted with responsibility at least upon filing of complaint by the student’s parents, but it “unnecessarily” and “unwarrantedly” acted in an intransigent manner, due to which Kaur “lost her precious academic year”.

“The school authorities cannot act in an arbitrary or casual manner in issuing a normal and factually correct school leaving transfer certificate,” the NCDRC stated. It further added, “Such certificate concerns the career of a student, and should be issued on request with the due responsibility, and at the earliest.”

NCDRC upheld the state commission’s order asking the school to pay Rs. 50,000 along with litigation costs, with strong observations against the school for its “deficient services” and indulging into “unfair trade practice by withholding Kaur’s transfer certificate”. The district forum had dismissed the student’s appeal in 2008 but the state commission had allowed her appeal on May 5, 2010.

The state forum had awarded monetary compensation to Kaur noting that it was not in a position to take back the clock but she should be compensated for the year she lost because of inaction on the part of the school.

Source: PTI