Ranchi: Around 30 students were forced to stand outside their school in Hazaribagh district of Jharkhand even as their examination was underway on Tuesday because their parents had failed to pay the monthly fees, an official said.

The students of Holy Cross school were forced to leave the exam room as their parents had not paid the school fees for the month of July. Most of the students were aged below 10 years.

The angry parents later protested and met Deputy Commissioner of Hazaribagh Vinay Kumar Chaube and submitted a memorandum to him. Following the intervention of the district administration, the students were later allowed to take their exams.

"We have paid the school fees upto June month. My daughter was forced to go outside the examination room. She was humiliated which has made a deep impact on her mind," said Devendra Kumar, whose daughter studies in Class 1 of the school.

Another parent Kumar Kaushlendra said: "Why should the students be punished for the fault of their parents? We have already paid school fees up to June month. The school administration move aims at torturing students and harassing parents. We will take the issue to the Jharkhand Educational Tribunal."

However, an official of the school management said: "There is a clear cut instruction that the school fees should be paid by the 25th of every month." IANS