Parents Protest Outside DPS Dwarka In Delhi Against Arbitrary Fee Hike: 'Punish Us, Not Our Children'
Parents on Tuesday staged a protest outside Delhi Public School, Dwarka against arbitrary fee hikes by private schools across the national capital.
The parents, holding banners and posters, alleged that students whose fees were not paid were not allowed to attend the class and were made to sit in the library for the entire stretch.
One parent alleged that they have been approaching Directorate of Education (DoE) and Chief Minister's Office for the last five year, under both AAP and BJP dispensations, but the "exploitation" has not stopped. He referred to the court ruling that ordered the private schools, built on DDA lands, not to increase fee without approval from DoE.
"We are paying every penny of the fee approved by DoE, if we default on that, punish us, not our children," the parent said.
Education Minister Vows Action
Delhi Education Minister Ashish Sood has vowed strict action against private schools that arbitrarily hiked their fees. He accused the previous AAP dispensation of turning a blind eye to such a practice.
Meanwhile, the AAP has alleged a return of the "education mafia" under the new BJP rule in the national capital.
Sood addressed a press conference on Monday saying, "Out of 1,677 private schools in Delhi, 335 operate on government land and are bound by the Delhi School Education Act of 1973, requiring government approval for fee hikes but only 114 schools are exempt from this condition."
He reiterated that private schools could not hike fees without Directorate of Education (DoE) approval, citing a 2004 Delhi High Court judgment in the "Modern School case."
The BJP minister cited data from a private school in Dwarka that had hiked its fees consecutively from 2020 to 2025 by 7 per cent to 20 per cent.
He also named a few private schools that increased the fees without DoE approval by 30 per cent to 38 per cent.
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