Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta on Tuesday reacted to the alleged fee hike by some private schools and asserted that the government would take action against such institutions. "Notices have been issued to schools against which complaints of arbitrary fee hikes have been received. These schools have been asked to respond, failing which strict action will be taken against them," the chief minister said and asserted that "no school has the right to harass parents over fees or remove students unfairly".
"It is completely unacceptable for any school to mentally harass parents or students, threaten them with expulsion or increase fees without following due process," she said. CM Gupta has instructed the officials of the education department to take strict action against such schools and issue immediate notices to all schools found violating the rules.
Addressing a Jan Samvad (public meeting), the CM said she received a complaint about a private school in Model Town allegedly increasing fees and expelling students. A group of parents complained to the CM about how their children were expelled from Queen Mary School in Model Town after they objected to illegal fee hikes. She further stated that the issue of fee hikes and student expulsion by private schools in Delhi was brought to her attention.
"It is clear that no school has the right to intimidate or harass students, 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 warned.
Sharing the incident in a post on X, Gupta said, "Today, a case related to Queen Mary's School in Model Town came up, where parents complained about unjust fee collection and the expulsion of students." The chief minister called an official and directed him to immediately cancel the registration of Queen Mary's School in Model Town.
There was no immediate response from the school. "Parents have been meeting me with their grievances... that is for sure... no school has any right to harass parents and children. They have no right to threaten children and hike fees abnormally. There are rules and regulations (for fee hikes) which must be followed. If any school is found indulging in all these, then they will have to suffer. We will be issuing notices today to all those schools regarding which we have received complaints," she said.
A parent, whose daughter studies the same school alleged that the school suddenly increased its fees last year. "When we refused to pay the additional amount, the school kept my daughter in the library and did not allow her to attend any of her classes," he said.
The matter has been taken seriously and officials have been directed to carry out an immediate investigation and take necessary action, the Chief minister said.
"No school has the right to harass parents over fees or remove students unfairly," she said, adding that all schools are expected to follow set rules and regulations, and any violation will result in action.
"A zero-tolerance policy is in place for any kind of injustice, exploitation or irregularity — no negligence will be accepted. Our commitment is clear that every child deserves justice, dignity and quality education," Gupta said.
She emphasised that the Delhi government remains committed to transparency, equal opportunity and protection of children's rights in education. Several protests have been held by parents in recent weeks against schools on the fee hike issue.
Atishi calls out CM
In a blistering attack on the BJP-led Delhi government, former Delhi Chief Minister Atishi has pointed out that Chief Minister Rekha Gupta is only doing lip service in the name of action over the controversial private school fee hikes.
Atishi has directly challenged the Chief Minister to stop "pretending to act" by issuing notices, and instead pass an immediate order halting the fee hikes across all schools. She demanded that no additional fees should be collected from parents until the government completes a thorough audit of private school finances.
Posting on social media platform X, Delhi Assembly Atishi said, "Rekha Gupta ji, I challenge you to immediately issue an order stopping all increased school fees with immediate effect. Until a thorough audit of school accounts is conducted, no private school should be allowed to charge hiked fees. If Rekha Gupta ji is hand-in-glove with private schools, no such order will be issued. But if there is no collusion, this order can be passed today itself."
The AAP has strongly condemned the BJP government in Delhi for allowing private schools to increase fees unchecked. Several private schools have raised fees by an alarming 60 to 80 percent, placing immense financial stress on families.
