NEW DELHI: Two days after Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta said during Delhi Dialogues organised by this newspaper that commercialisatiown of education is unacceptable and schools need to justify fee hikes, Education Minister Ashish Sood on Monday announced an investigation into alleged irregularities in private schools.
Emphasising non-compliance with fee regulations and inadequate auditing practices, Sood, at a press conference, shared that only 75 out of 1,600 private schools have undergone audits in the past decade, and the Directorate of Education lacks proper records for many of these institutions.
“I challenge, with full responsibility, those who took money under the table from private schools. The BJP government will conduct a thorough probe,” he said, adding that a sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) committee would audit all 1,600 private schools.
“Each school will be required to respond to 18 specific questions,” the minister said, adding that schools found guilty of financial misconduct would face action, and any excess fees collected will be refunded to parents.
Sood accused the previous AAP government of looking the other way when some schools raised the fee during their tenure. “A list of such schools has been compiled, and each one will be inspected. Based on the findings, action will follow,” he said.
Sood said schools covered by the Delhi School Education Act 1973 must seek permission from the Directorate of Education before implementing any fee hike.