The Arvind Kejriwal Government has asked managing committee/manager of the Maxfort School, Pitam Pura and Maxfort School Rohini, to show cause in writing as to why the power under Section 20 of the Delhi School Education Act, 1973 to take over the management should not be exercised in case of violations of the Act. These schools have been asked to furnish their replies within 15 days on receipt of this notice, failing which appropriate action shall be taken by the Directorate without any further notice to the managing committee/ manager. The AAP Government has also referred alleged illegal transaction cases of two branches of the Maxfort School to the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Delhi Police.
The Government action comes after the parents of about dozen odd schools filed the complaints about ‘illegal’ hike in their fee structure and non-refund of the capitation fee deposited by parents at the time of seeking admissions for their wards. Similar action would be taken against dozen of private schools in this regard.
The Pioneer had earlier on April 3 reported pertaining to Maxfort school’s two branches that Parents Association alleged the school authorities in Pitampura and Rohini branches had claimed that the results of their wards had been withheld as the authorities had been demanding revised fee which hiked ‘illegally’.
In their representation to the AAP Government, the Maxfort School Parents Association alleged that the school authorities in Pitampura and Rohini branches had maintained that the results of their wards had been withheld as the authorities had been demanding revised fee which had been hiked illegally. The complaints were also filed by Maxfort School Parents Association, alleging money laundering, financial irregularities and bank account manipulation, land scam by school authorities, formation of fake trusts/societies for receiving capitation fee against admissions, evasion of taxes with the help of Auditors and Directorate of Education, incomplete and fake records of economically weaker sections students and no physical verification of EWS category in the school.
Following the complaints of Maxfort School Parents Association, Delhi Government has set up a committee to probe into the allegations. In the case of Rohini branch of Maxfort school, the committee in its report said that the school failed to provide admission record of EWS/DG category for the period prior to 2014-15 and there are violations of the provisions of RTE Act, 09 in the admissions under EWS /DG category for the year 2014-15 and 2015-16 since the number of such seats filled were far below than the 25 percent of the total strength of the class. The report further stated that the school has furnished false information to the Directorate in respect of the actual admission made in 2015-16 under the General Category. The school has failed to maintain the service books and personal files of teachers. There were 40 teachers who were regular and 63 teachers were found to have been appointed on contractual basis. Therefore, about two third of the teachers’ strength has been found on the roll of the school on contract basis and the names of these contractual staff have not been reflected in the staff statement to the Department prior to 2014-15 under Rule 180(1). It has also failed to provide details relating to salary statements of the staffs, attendance registers of the staff and other relevant documents as required by the Committee,” the report said.
In the case of Pitam Pura branch, the Committee in its report stated that the school has also failed to provide details related to EWS and details relating to salary statements of the staff, attendance registers of the staff and other relevant documents as required by the Committee. The school has also failed to maintain the service books and personal files of teachers and more than half of the teachers were found to have been appointed on contractual basis.
The Government also directed the school to refund the donations or capitation fee charged from the parents. It directed the authorities not to demand any arrears from the parents and to declare the results of various classes at pre-determined dates unconditionally without insisting them to pay hiked fee.