Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Delhi Assembly Atishi on Monday said that the BJP government has given private schools a free hand to ‘loot’ parents through unchecked fee hikes. Atishi has demanded an immediate rollback and called for CAG-empanelled audits of all schools raising fees.

“If the BJP has no nexus with the education mafia, let them prove it through action, not silence,” she said in a press conference. “Parents of children studying in private schools are protesting outside school gates in different parts of Delhi, raising slogans against fee hikes. Many private school gates are being locked, and parents are being denied entry,” she said. The Delhi Assembly LoP stated that at the root of this unrest is the unrestrained looting of parents by private schools ever since the BJP government took charge in Delhi. These institutions have shamelessly increased their fees and burdened lakhs of families.

Recalling the reforms under the previous AAP government, Atishi stated, “For the last ten years, under the leadership of Arvind Kejriwal, the AAP government had tightly regulated private school fee hikes. The AAP government conducted audits of private schools, and if unjustified hikes were found, schools were ordered to refund the excess fees. Many schools even called back passed-out students and refunded the extra fees. This was only possible because Arvind Kejriwal led an honest government that protected parents from exploitation.”

She added, “Private schools were required to get prior audit clearance from chartered accountants empanelled with the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) before any fee hike. Every rupee was accounted for. This strict oversight kept arbitrary fee hikes in check.”

Attacking the BJP for its failure to rein in the private school lobby, Atishi stated, “Since the BJP came to power in Delhi, private schools have been given a free hand to exploit parents. Every day, we hear of new protests at different schools over fee hikes. Schools like Rukmini Devi, Greenfields, ITL, St Angel’s Senior Secondary and Lancer’s Convent are just a few examples. The list is growing by the day.”

“Every day, Delhiites write to us on social media. Parents from Birla Vidya Niketan, Indraprastha World School, and DPS are calling us, pleading for help in stopping the fee hikes. Despite being in the Opposition, people still turn to the AAP because they have no faith in the BJP’s Delhi government to act against private schools,” she asserted.