Even as parents across the city are up in arms against schools overcharging for their children's education, one father has scored a major victory by moving the State Human Rights Commission against an errant school in Vidyavihar. As this paper reported yesterday, after a six-year-long battle, the Commission has ordered the filing of a first information report (FIR) against the school, and has also directed the additional chief secretary of the home department to pay the parent a compensation of Rs 50,000.

A glance at the details of this trailblazing case shows that in 2011, apart from the school fees for his daughter, this father had been asked to pay an additional smart class fees under the umbrella of education fees and teacher arrears, totalling Rs 1,185. This man decided that the fees were not justified and filed a complaint with the Commission.