NEW DELHI: The alleged refusal by Apeejay School in Saket to release board exam admit cards to some Class X students over the non-payment of hiked fees emerged as a major flashpoint on Sunday, prompting a war of words between the ruling BJP and AAP.
While AAP has assured the parents and students concerned that they would intervene in the matter, the Delhi BJP has blamed the previous AAP government for the delay in the issue of roll numbers to students appearing for CBSE board exams.
AAP Delhi unit president Saurabh Bharadwaj said on Sunday, “With the Class X CBSE board examinations set to begin on Tuesday, some private schools have resorted to complete hooliganism. Parents are being blackmailed. Apeejay School has withheld students’ roll numbers, including that of a girl student who is a national-level athlete.”
He took to X and urged the parents concerned not to panic. Bharadwaj assured them that he would visit the school at 1.00 PM on Monday to ensure the immediate issue of the students’ roll numbers.
“The BJP government and private schools will not be allowed to indulge in hooliganism,” he said as he lashed out at the school authorities for withholding the students’ roll numbers and allegedly blackmailing the parents into paying fees that he claimed had been hiked arbitrarily.
Bharadwaj further rued that students set to appear for the exams have had to wait outside schools for four hours at a time to obtain their roll numbers. “Schools are acting irresponsibly while the BJP government remains silent,” he expressed.
Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva reacted sharply to it, saying, “AAP leaders are trying to give everyone the impression that students from private schools across Delhi are facing such issues. In reality, this issue pertains to a fee hike implemented by Saket’s Apeejay School back in 2020.”
He pointed out, “Even last year, at the behest of the outgoing AAP government, the school had withheld the roll numbers of pupils appearing for board exams over the non-payment of fees.” The candidates, he said, only got a relief after the intervention of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights.
Sachdeva added, “The fee hike at Apeejay School has nothing to do with the current BJP government. It has been an ongoing issue for nearly five years. But the new education law in Delhi is very strict. No private school can withhold the roll numbers of CBSE board examination candidates.”