About Vael's Billabong High International School

You know I have to say, that I am one of the past parents of the school. This is not the first time I have heard of an incident like this happening in that school.
When my children were attending that school there were a few incidents like this.

I just don't think children would ever lie about this sort of thing.
Think about it!

But you have to ask your self ... what type of school do you expect to get when its a franchise.

The school is only concerned about one thing! MONEY, MONEY, MONEY!!

Vael's is not concerned about the walfare of your children. There not concerned about the education of your children.

I can only say. I feel so bad for the latest victim of that school, and I hope the child and the parents can seek help from medical staff since the incenses of a child has been taken!

Great Job Vael's Billabong High!!!!

 

Hi,

I am going to move to chennai from bangkok and our house is at nilankarai..
Billabong seems to be the closest school and i heard good things abt tht school until i read this post..

Now i am unsure abt this school as safety definitely comes first.

Can u pls calrify abt the school safety more for me (USMOM and dianekumar)?

Also i am totally new to chennai, pls suggest a good school or pre-school for my 3 yr girl.

How is eurokids is it good?

bkkmom

 

Hi BKK
I was under the same opinion as you about Vels Billabong too until I read the post by dianekumar and USmom. I plan to move next year and now am contemplating about the school. However, I know one of my friends, who recently went back to India and stayed there for 6 months. She is planning to r2i as well and tried Euro kids, for her 3 yr old daughter, for those 6 months she was there. Her feedback about the school is very good. She was very impressed with the aimbence and the atmosphere of the school
Cheers
Sky98

 

Hi Sky98,

Thanks for your reply.

As i dont really have anyone there in chennai, Could you pls inform me as soon as u get any info abt good school there.

Thanks

 

Hi BKK

I will surely keep you posted on my personal feedback, however, I strongly suggest (if you have not already done so) to go through this forum, under the thread, schools in cheenai, how do you choose a school for your kids etc, which have lots of valuable information, from people like Shanti and many others, whohave personally undergone this before and put their kids in a school after coming from other country.

Cheers
Sky98

 

Hi,

I'm also a parent of kids in billabong, who has interacted with the mother and the school about the incident.

While I am not certain whether or not the incident occured at school, I agree that the kid won't make up the story.
However questioning can *make* the child or any of us, say things or agree to things which have not happened.

It took a month after the incident occurred and the parents reported it to the school, before the parents shared it with anyoen else. This primarily because the mother wanted the moms to join with her against the faculty.
What is peculiar, is that the child said it happened in class and by an *uncle*. For her to have swelling and infections of *questionnable* sources, it means it was not a moment thing.

Facts are, it happened on a day when there was no school for lower school. The girl comes to school on the school bus. There were no buses or teachers til 1030. Child starts school at 8.30.
Seems there was a substitute teacher *minding* a class of kids, who did allow the child to go to the bathroom without an Aaya.

My kids didn't go to school for the entire week before, and I took them to school on that day. I was flagged down way before the entrance to be told that there was no school. How did the child get to school?
While I don;t want this to happen to any child, something is drastically wrong with the story. If it did happen to the child on that day or any other day< we can't blame the school.

Apparently, neither do the childs parents. How is it that the child continues to come to school and the parents have enrolled their other child at the school, while other furious parents have taken their kids out of the school?

There was another friend of mine who took her kid to school that day.. who was also turned away before getting down from her car. I am so confused, and I don't want the child to suffer from some ignorance or error of the parents, but what can we derive from the facts?

The mother comes from a well to do family and while teh paediatrician recommends psychiatric help for the child, she is too afraid of who will come to know and how it will affect the family. Which one of us mothers would sit silently and daily at teh school, continue to bring our daughter to a school where she was molested? and not report it? especailly when the father was some great defence lawyer in MAdras?
I would want to murder that guy! and make sure the world knows what is going on at the school!!!

To say that the school is perfect, it is not! Even I had qualms about it and ONLY took my kids there cuz there was no other option for them both!
Infrastructure is good, but like other schools there are soem things you have to speak to management about.
There is definitely some lacks in terms of security, cuz as indians think, drivers friends etc are found in the security area by the gates.

One set of toilets are next to the staff toilet which is not good as male staff also, and right next to teh pool which is open. WE have complained about these things as sometimes the kids move to the pool area when there is no AAya at teh toilet area. There are kinks in each system. They are there even in other *good* schools. As far as I hear the American school is the best option but that is reserved if you can shell out the 8lacs admin fee or if your company pays for schooling!
But don't kid yourself to expect american faculty. Billabong is supposed to be Australian. I know the name surely is australian!

I did send my first kid to Adyar Eurokids. And it was great ambience. Teachers were great caring. I only took him out cuz they were teaching him t om chanting and meditation without my knowledge and I'm Christian. w hich otherwise is fine if they hadn't said that they are non-religious. Other than that they are great.
Kids Central in Kotturpuram is also good.
I live in a flat since moving to Chennai, and from general compalints, no school is perfect. Either which way, you will find happy and unhappy paretns/kids in all schools!

Moving to Chennai, you have to cinsider several things. Sex *crimes* are everywhere. India times has it..1 in 4 boys in India are sexually molested. In Chennai surveys alone, approximately52/53% students have had soem kinda of sexual molestation. These are hard facts.
Starts with the indian mentality i think. Why trust your kids to the mali/driver/security, as is commomn in India. CHeck everything. Who is on the school bus with your kids?

*Aunties* & *uncles* follow close suite, as well as maids, good friends, and sadly some parents and siblings. Where does it end. I learnt that in Chennai, there is some munj (sorry I am not indian if i get anything wrong) ceremony amongst brahmins, where the nieces are promised to their uncles? If we allow these things, no wonder *we* willingly of forcibly(?) turn the eye?!

We can't be everywhere, and we have to trust people at some level, but just do not take things for granted. Wherever you are. Prepare for the differences.
here it's lewdness and molestation, in the US or europe, hey the kids are sexually active quite early.
We have to do our part as parents and not rely on the schools or their good name.
WE also have to stand up and cry out when things like this happen! I understand the school was owned by some movie personnel, I hope it is infact *was*. We don't want that happening.!

As to the other schools. It happens there too and prob more. A parent at sisha where there is prob a 50:1 child to teacher ratio( as cf 8-12:1 in Billabong), told me that a security kissed one of the girls in the bathroom! And they have lotsa security measures!

Billabong though is good. I am happy my kids are there. They do get a lot of attention from the teachers. There are special educators who go to the classes and observe the kids and if they need extra time/care, it is given to them. They have an inclusion policy.
With the extra staff and aayas, if your kid misses school, they get individual attention and make up time in the class! That's a lot to ask for.
I know cuz my kids are doing badly with chennai weather and miss too much school!
So kudos to the school!

On the other note, we, some of the parents have tried to work with the mother of the child, encourage her to take care of the child, who has resettled into school btw.
Something we are not happy about. Especially if she believes her daughter.
It's a tough call.
Let's hope we never have to deal with a situation like this. And if we do, we have to be strong, be vigilant, and try not to make wrong decisions to further victimise our kid.

SOrry for being so long, but I felt that I needed to say these things as a mother and as a parent of kids at the school!

bgr

?

 

Hi Parentvaels

Thanks for your long and detailed post. It is indeed very helpful, for parents like me, who are planning to put their kids once they arrive in India. Just when I had thought that I have finally short listed the schools, ( ihave to say that I have had very good feedback about billabong, and I also spoke with the office personally and thought they were very receptive), this molesting story came through. Thanks for your comments on it and also your feedback that your children enjoy that school

I personally beleive that there is no perfect person, no perfect child, no perfect parent, no perfect teacher... and hence, no perfect school either... and i beleive it goes all the way to no perfect world. All of us have some plus and some minuses and, we just try to give it our extreme best shot and hope that everything works out well.
Thanks again.
Cheers
Sky98

 

Glad I could help!

 

Hi Sky98,

So have you made your decision to which school inchennai?

Is billabong in the consideration as well?

I am really confused now.. Please help me out of this matter..

BKKmom

 

Sorry for the late reply. I am kind of 95% sure that it will be vels. One of my uncle, who holds a very high rank in the educational dept in TN also gave me the feedback that Vels was very good, when he did one of his routine inspections.
So I think atleast for the first two years after we will go for vels, considering a smooth transition, and validate for ourselves when we come there.
Cheers
Sky98