Delhi govt to take over yet another pvt school for arbitrary hike in fees
NEW DELHI: After taking over Apeejay School in Sheikh Sarai, the Delhi government is going to assume the management of another private school — Bal Bharti School in Rohini. Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal have accorded approvals for the take over the school.
According to officials, Delhi government had issued multiple orders to the school asking it to withdraw the “arbitrary increase” in fees, but the school management allegedly failed to comply with these orders.
The Directorate of Education (DOE) had conducted an inspection of the financial statements of Bal Bharti School for the financial years 2016-2017 and 2017-2018. During the inspection, the DOE found that total funds with the school for the year 2017-18 were Rs 23,81,82,958. Out of this, Rs 20,94,38,802 was estimated to be spent.
Officials said that even after spending Rs 20,94,38,802, the school management had a net surplus of Rs 2,87,44,156. After taking into account the financial status of the institution, the DoE came to the conclusion that there was no need for the management to increase the fees. In this regard, the Directorate refused to accept the fee hike proposed by the school for the academic session 2017-2018.
“Apart from this, the fees increased by the school in 2017-18 had to be adjusted further. In the meantime, the Delhi government received complaints from parents that the school had increased the fees several times in 2018-19 and 2019-20, and also asked to deposit ‘arrears’,” said the government in a statement.
“Following the complaints, DoE issued a notice to the school on May 10, 2019, asking why the recognition of the school should not be cancelled or why the government should not take over the management of the school. The reply received from the school was not satisfactory. In view of this situation, the government has decided to initiate the process of taking over the management of the school, and the file was sent to the Lieutenant Governor for approval. This file was approved by the Lieutenant Governor and further proceedings are in progress,” said the statement.
Deputy CM Manish Sisodia who is also the Education Minister, assured the parents that the Kejriwal government will not allow schools to increase fees arbitrarily. “If any school does this then strict action will be taken against them,” he said.