Letters: Squandered potential

I want to draw the attention of the authorities concerned through your letters section to the plight of children admitted to private schools in Delhi under the quota for economically weaker sections.

As an illustration, I refer to one representative case of a boy admitted to a reputed school in south Delhi. He was one of the best students in class. But then his classmates from rich families, who came to school in cars and were getting a lot of pocket money, started bullying him. The boy started losing interest in studies and his rank went down.

In the beginning he did not report his problem to his parents for the fear of losing friends at school. But then he became more upset when other boys started making dirty remarks about his mother, who took him to school.

For a long time, he bore all that. But ultimately, he could not stand it any more and started withdrawing from the company of classmates and skipping school. When the situation worsened, he would come home and cry, sometimes abuse his parents for not earning more money. Finally, the parents had no option but to withdraw him from the school. Now he sits idle at home.

A precious life which once had a lot of potential is being wasted.

Tarra Mody, New Delhi

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