New Delhi, July 6: Scores of students from primary classes were made to stay back by a private school in Prashant Vihar even after regular hours to coerce their parents to opt for school transport over private vans, the parents alleged. The students were made to sit under the open sky in the humid weather with many of them crying to go back home, their parents claimed.

There was no immediate reaction from the school authorities. Videos of the purported incident have emerged on social media. The aggrieved parents have said they will approach Delhi Lt Governor V K Saxena and Education Minister Atishi over the issue and demand action against the school. They also plan to pursue the matter legally. Delhi Government School Admission 2024-25: Online Admission Process for Classes 6 to 9 Begins Today at edudel.nic.in.

A group of parents have created a WhatsApp group where thousands of parents have been added to discuss the issue that occurred on Thursday. They claimed that students who use school transport were allowed to leave at the designated time.

One of the parents, requesting anonymity, claimed that the school ended at 12.15 pm, but the authorities did not allow the students to leave. "What was more concerning was they did not even permit the van drivers to pick up the children. The students were made to stay back till 1.15 pm. We received text messages from the school asking us to come and pick up our children," he told PTI over phone. Delhi School Bomb Threat: List of Schools in Delhi-NCR That Received Messages Threatening Bomb Blast.

Speaking about the matter, another parent, a resident of Rohini, called the move "extremely wrong". "The school could have arranged a Parent Teachers' Meeting for all the parents instead of forcing us to opt for school transport for our children by making our wards sit outside in the humid weather," he added.

Recalling the incident, the parent said he was at his workplace in Gurugram when he received the text message. "I had to rush back to Prashant Vihar. The most distressing thing was seeing our children sleeping on the ground. All the students are small. My child is a seven-year-old," he said. Another parent shared a video in which children were seen crying and sleeping on the ground because the school authorities did not allow them to leave.

"Since Monday we have been receiving calls from the school about the transport service. Some parents told them that it would not be feasible for them to use the bus service as there is nobody to pick and drop the children at the bus stop," another aggrieved parent said.

He said they decided to create a WhatsApp group of all parents after the school authorities continued to insist on opting for school vehicle. "Together we decided that we will raise voice against the incident and approach concerned authorities," he said.