Salt Lake: The school education department has asked the heads of all private schools to ensure that students are not harassed over default in payment of tuition and other fees and that all financial communication should be directly with the guardians.

The directive follows a notice from the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, asking the states to caution all private schools against dragging students into any fee-related problem.

Complaints about students in private schools being harassed and shamed by the authorities over delayed or non-payment of fees are not uncommon in Bengal, a senior official in the school education department said.

When guardians fail to pay the fees on time, the first move by the authorities is to send a note as reminder through their wards. Sometimes, the message is conveyed through a mention on the school diary or almanac.

Schools are also known to call parents and ask them to clear the pending dues, the official said. In the extreme, students are barred from writing their terminal exams.

"There have been incidents in some schools of students being stopped in front of the exam halls. The authorities ask them to call their parents and say that tuition and other fees must be paid immediately for them to be allowed to write the exams. Little boys and girls are subjected to intense feelings of shame and humiliation when they have to face such situations," the official said.

The national commission's notice mentions reports of alleged child suicides in some parts of the country, although no such case has been reported in Bengal yet.

"The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights has expressed grave concern over the reported suicides by schoolchildren because of harassment over non-payment of school fees and the discriminatory behaviour by the school authorities/principalseachers towards the students. Please note that this is a gross violation of Section 75 of the Juvenile (Care & Protection of Children) Act, 2015. Therefore, you are requested to deal with all fee-related issues with the parents and guardians only and not with students," the state government's directive states.

Nabarun De, the principal of Central Modern School and general secretary of the Association of Schools for the Indian School Certificate, said on Monday that his institute was yet to receive a copy of the directive. He contested the allegation that students were being harassed in various schools over default in payment of tuition and other fees.

According to De, schools are compelled to involve students when parents do not respond to phone calls and emails. "It would be better if the government could suggest some ways for recovering pending fees," he said.