No private school can arbitrarily hike fees, says Delhi CM, warns of action

Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Delhi Assembly Atishi, accusing Gupta of being “hand-in-glove with private school lobbies”, demanded that she should issue formal orders against the collection of increased fee by private schools till their accounts were audited.

According to a statement from her office, Gupta said, “It is completely unacceptable for any school to mentally harass parents or students, threaten them with expulsion, or increase fees without following due process.”

“It is clear that no school has the right to intimidate or harass students or their guardians, or to arbitrarily increase fees. There are clear laws and guidelines governing this, and all schools are obligated to follow them. Any school found to be in violation will face the consequences,” she added.

The BJP government in Delhi, she further said, is working towards establishing an “educational ecosystem” in the city that “goes beyond textbooks to equip students with life skills, independent thinking, and self-reliance”.

Taking on the CM, Atishi challenged her to stop “pretending to act” by issuing notices, and instead pass an immediate order halting the fee hikes across all schools.

“Private schools are pressuring parents to deposit the hiked fees immediately, and those who are unable to do so are being harassed. Parents are being forced to take to the streets in protest against this tyranny, yet not a single BJP minister or MLA has come forward to support them. It is clear that this unchecked exploitation is happening because of the BJP government’s collusion with private school lobbies,” the AAP said in a statement.

The party sought to contrast the current situation and the governance model under former CM Arvind Kejriwal, stating that fee regulation was strictly enforced during his tenure.

“For 10 years under Arvind Kejriwal, no private school was allowed to arbitrarily increase fees. Strict audits of school accounts were carried out, and in cases where schools had overcharged parents, the excess amount was refunded. Never did parents have to protest on the streets about fee hikes. But ever since the BJP came to power in Delhi, private schools have been given a free hand to exploit parents,” the party said.