The Seventh-Day Adventist Higher Secondary School in Maninagar is facing a fine of a whopping Rs 20 lakh for organising a one-day picnic at Bliss Waterpark without obtaining the necessary permission from the District Education Officer (DEO). The school not only violated the permission norms but also reportedly misled parents by issuing a circular falsely stating that it had obtained necessary permissions from both the education and police departments.
The Education Department had earlier issued stringent directives to all schools, restricting them from organising school picnics until further safety guidelines were established. The directives were issued in the wake of the ‘Harni Boat tragedy’ in Vadodara in which several school children and teachers on a picnic drowned in a lake due to a lack of safety norms.
The trip organised by Seventh-Day Adventist on September 29 involved 200 students from grades 9 to 11 and the school had charged Rs1450 per student for the trip, which included the entry fee, transportation, food, and water.
As per regulations, schools must seek permission from the DEO at least seven days in advance for such activities, which the school failed to do.
Ahmedabad City DEO, Rohit Chaudhari has issued a show-cause notice to the school, demanding an explanation as to why a penalty of up to Rs 10,000 per student should not be imposed. The notice also warns that the school’s NOC from the state board could be cancelled due to this violation. Additionally, Chaudhari has told the school to cancel all the trips organised for students in the coming days and asked it to return the trip fees to the students.
Furthermore, the DEO has shared a circular reiterating that all government, grant-in-aid, and private schools must obtain permission before organising a trip for students.