Government to check accounts of schools keen on fee hike

Unyielding to demands of allowing fees hike, the Delhi government will now check accounts of private schools built on land allotted by the Delhi Development Authority.

The fees hike proposal, submitted by three dozen private schools, was flawed, according to the city’s directorate of education.

On April 16 and July 3, the directorate had sought online proposals for fees increase from the private schools set up on the DDA land, which was allotted to them on the ground that they would obtain prior sanction from the directorate before increasing fees.

One hundred and fifteen private unaided schools submitted their online proposals to the DoE until July 31. Inspection of 79 schools has already been started and the remaining schools have been asked to be ready with their account books.

Sources said the move is meant to curb unwarranted fees hike in the city’s private schools. Nearly 450 private schools are built on the land allotted by the city’s central land-owning agency.

The directorate said it has ordered “scrutiny and verification” of the proposals since the documents uploaded by the schools were “incomplete” or “illegible” or “not in specified format.” A team of chartered accountants from the government-empanelled firms is likely to carry out the inspections from August 16.

In its order, earlier this month, the DoE directed the schools “to keep all records and books of accounts open for examination and scrutiny by the chartered accountants in accordance with sub-rule (3) of rule 180 of the Delhi School Education Rules, 1973.” The schools were also asked to “provide access to contact details of all parents” to the empanelled firms so that they can “derive information from all stakeholders.”