Will convene meeting with parents, officials on fee hike issue: CM

Amid growing concerns over arbitrary fee hikes in private schools, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Monday assured a group of parents that the government would convene a meeting to look into the matter. The assurance came after the parents, representing the Delhi Parents’ Association, met Ms. Gupta at the Secretariat and sought the government’s intervention.

According to an official statement, the discussion on the issue would include parents from different schools, the Education Minister, and officials from the Education Department. In their interaction with Ms. Gupta, the parents expressed their concerns over several private schools not following the Directorate of Education’s (DoE) guidelines and allegedly issuing notices to students over non-payment of fees. They also highlighted what they described as “unfair treatment” of students in such cases.

The issue gained prominence after The Indian Heights School, Dwarka, issued a circular on May 31, informing parents of a 10% fee hike for the current academic session with effect from April 1.

The school justified the increase, stating it was “essential to continue providing quality education, extracurricular facilities, and infrastructure”.

Education Minister Ashish Sood had stated on June 10 that the ordinance to regulate fee hikes was sent to the President for assent and would be applicable with retrospective effect from April 1. However, there is no update regarding the assent yet.

‘Mid-year fee hike’

The Aam Aadmi Party on Monday accused the Delhi government of “colluding with private schools” over the fee hike issue.

Leader of the Opposition Atishi took to X to criticise the move. She questioned why no action was being taken against schools that increased fees in the middle of the academic year. “It is clear that the Rekha Gupta government has given a green signal to private schools for fee hikes,” she said.

(With inputs from PTI)