Parents As Consumers

In a landmark judgement, recently, the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) directed a private school in Tamil Nadu to pay about Rs 2.9 lakhs as compensation for negligence which had resulted in the death of a three-and-a-half-year old child in 1993, stated a report in The Hindu, dated August 14, 2001.

The NCDRC is holding parents of school-going children as consumers.

This means that education now comes under the Consumer Protection Act. According to the act, anything that the consumers pay for comes under the consumer jurisdiction. And since education is something that parents pay for, it too should not be left out, says Pushpa Girimaji, veteran journalist and a consumer forum columnist. Only examinations will be outside the purview of the Act.

“This is a much wanted legal right, considering the amount of school related problems, and children having to face them for no fault of theirs,” says Girimaji. Talking to Parentspitara she added, “I feel very strongly about this, since students and parents have no way of getting compensation for a lifetime’s damage done. Going to the consumer court is a great help as it saves a lot of the student’s time and money.”

The way the case proceeded is interesting. The report stated that the NCDRC, headed by Mr Justice DP Wadhwa, directed “the correspodent, Sri Chakravarty International Matriculation Academy, to pay Rs 2 lakhs as compensation to the parents with six per cent interest per annum from December 1993, besides a cost of Rs 1,000.”

The petitioner, Mr S Somasundaram, had moved the State forum alleging that his daughter Brinda, who was admitted to the school in Upper KG, died after she fell down in an open septic tank near the toilet in the school premises on December 2, 1993, and claimed Rs 5 lakhs as compensation from school authorities.

According to the report, allowing an appeal against the State Consumer Commission, the NCDRC said, “There clearly has been a deficiency in service. In the present case, there are two consumers, one the child and the other, the parents. Not only did the child suffer, but the parents have suffered as well for the loss and injury to the child. They are entitled to damages.”

But wouldn’t this lead to any misuse on the part of the parents? Not really.
Girimaji says, “Parents can now easily go to court and give their petition. However, it is up to the court to consider it or not. One has to look at the better side. Atleast the parents and students can now go and address somebody for their distress.”