Delhi Assembly special session likely next week to table draft private school fee Bill

“The special session is likely to be called on May 13 and 14. Arbitrary behaviour by schools will be discussed, and efforts will be made to create transparency. Apart from this, discussions were also held during today’s meeting on monsoon preparedness and the government’s achievements,” a source in the BJP said.

The Delhi Cabinet on April 29 approved a draft Bill to regulate fees at all private schools in the Capital, with the CM saying that a special session of the Assembly will be convened to pass the Bill. “We have passed a draft Bill in the Cabinet meeting, applicable to all 1,677 aided and unaided private schools, to fix guidelines and procedures for fee hikes,” she had said, adding that schools found violating guidelines will face a penalty of up to Rs 10 lakh.

A day later, Leader of Opposition Atishi raised concerns over the transparency in the process to pass the draft Bill. In a letter addressed to the CM, Atishi pushed that the draft Bill should be presented in the Assembly. “It is ironic that while the Bill seeks to establish a ‘transparent procedure’, the whole process till now has been completely non-transparent.”

Parents have been protesting against arbitrary fee hikes by private schools in Delhi for over a year.

On Saturday, parents from across Delhi gathered at the Secretariat to meet Gupta and Sood to discuss the proposed Bill. During the meeting, Gupta acknowledged that implementing the Bill and its framework would take time.

“There will be a backlog, but there is no doubt that in the coming years, Delhi government schools will be good… this government promises that you (parents) will not have to constantly worry about your children’s education,” she told the parents.