New Delhi: Demanding a CBI probe on Saturday into “blatant fee hikes” in private schools, AAP alleged that BJP govt was “hand-in-glove” in the “corruption”.
“Private schools cannot raise fees without the blessings of those in power,” senior AAP functionary Manish Sisodia said, alleging that BJP had handed the schools a “free pass to loot parents”.
Responding to the allegation, the directorate of education said that it was closely monitoring the recent complaints of private school fee hikes and had initiated robust measures, including intensified vigilance and surprise inspections by high-level teams.
In a press conference at the party headquarters on Saturday, Sisodia named several prominent schools and claimed that they had raised their fees arbitrarily.
“Private schools have now begun raising fees at will. In 2015, when I became the education minister, the first major reform we brought in was to regulate fee hikes in private schools. To put a stop to this loot, an audit of every private school was ordered. Only those schools that could prove they had no funds to pay teachers’ salaries were granted permission to increase fees,” the former Delhi education minister claimed, adding that some schools had Rs 30 crore to Rs 100 crore lying unused. “Looting 30–40% more from parents every month is blatant corruption and must be investigated by the CBI,” he said.
The directorate of education, in a press statement, accepted that some private unaided schools were indulging in irregular fee hikes for many years, which posed a significant financial strain on parents.
“The education department has taken cognizance of this long-pending and chronic problem being faced by the helpless parents and students. The problem got more aggravated post-Covid when the schools increased fees by 25-30% each year. The parent bodies have also requested intervention to save them from threats of private schools to strike off the names of such wards who do not deposit the illegally hiked fee in the current academic session,” the statement read.
It added that the department was closely monitoring the complaints and had intensified its vigilance and initiated robust measures, including surprise inspections by high-level teams headed by district magistrates. “Stringent action is being undertaken against non-compliant institutions in accordance with the provisions of the Delhi School Education Act, 1973, including suspension or cancellation of their recognition and initiation of proceedings for taking over their management. Special audit of accounts in such private schools will be carried out by designated teams, including senior accounts functionaries,” the directorate of education stated, adding that efforts were being made for the early hearing of cases against the fee hikes in court.
“The directorate of education remains committed to prevent unjustified fee hikes…. Under no circumstances will the department permit any action that jeopardises the academic future of students. The schools increasing the fees illegally are cautioned against such malpractice,” it added.
