Delhi govt serves notice to schools on arbitrary fees hike in big crackdown
CM Rekha Gupta says schools do not have right to harass parents over fees or expel students unfairly and will be dealt with severely if they fail to follow rules
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Tuesday (April 15) said her government will have a “zero-tolerance” policy toward arbitrary fee hikes, harassment of parents for fees, and unfair expulsion of students by schools.
She said schools against which complaints of arbitrary fee hikes were received have been issued notices and asked to respond, failing which strict action will be taken against them.
Expulsion of students
The Delhi government’s action came after the chief minister, while addressing a 'Jan Samvad' (public meeting), received a complaint about a private school in Model Town allegedly increasing fees and expelling students.
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Sharing the incident in a post on X, Gupta said, "Today, a case related to Queen Mary's School in Model Town came up, where parents complained about unjust fee collection and the expulsion of students."
The matter has been taken seriously, and officials have been directed to carry out an immediate investigation and take necessary action, she said.
In the video shared on X by Gupta, she is seen giving instructions to summon Queen Mary's School's authorities to the Secretariat and inform them that the school’s registration will be cancelled.
‘Schools can’t harass parents’
The chief minister said schools are expected to follow a set of rules and regulations, and any violation will result in action.
"No school has the right to harass parents over fees or remove students unfairly," she said.
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“There are rules and regulations (for fee hikes) that must be followed. If any school is found indulging in all these, it will have to suffer. We will issue notices to all schools we have received complaints about,” she said.
‘Zero-tolerance policy’
The chief minister said her government has put in place a zero-tolerance policy for any kind of injustice, exploitation, or irregularity.
"A zero-tolerance policy is in place for any kind of injustice, exploitation, or irregularity- no negligence will be accepted. Our commitment is clear that every child deserves justice, dignity and quality education," Gupta said.
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She emphasised that the Delhi government remains committed to transparency, equal opportunity, and the protection of children's rights in education.
"Notices have been issued to schools against which complaints of arbitrary fee hikes have been received. These schools have been asked to respond, failing which strict action will be taken against them," the chief minister told PTI.
AAP’s charges, BJP’s defence
The move by the Delhi chief minister comes in the wake of allegations by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) about the BJP having links with the Action Committee of Unaided Private Schools, which had opposed the then AAP government’s stand against the fee hike by schools.
“Bharat Arora, president of the Association of Unaided Private Schools, is an office-bearer of the BJP and actively campaigned for the chief minister ahead of the Assembly polls. And as soon as the BJP formed the government, news of school fee hikes started coming in,” AAP’s Saurabh Bharadwaj had alleged.
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In response, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva had passed the buck on the then AAP government.
He alleged that the failure of the Arvind Kejriwal government to audit the accounts of 1,575 private schools in Delhi had given them the scope to raise fees substantially.