Despite HC direction, private schools increase tuition fee

New Delhi: Despite the Delhi high court’s directions to schools to not increase fee and subsequent withdrawal of the go ahead given by the Delhi government, some private schools in the national capital have hiked it citing the recommendations of the seventh Central Pay Commission.

The Indian School in the city has asked the parents to pay the arrears from January 1, 2016 to November 30, 2017 and have increased the tuition fee from Rs 4,125 to Rs 4,735 per month, a rise of Rs 610.

In a circular issued on February 21, the said school has asked the parents to pay the said amount not later than March 7, 2018.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government had in October allowed the private schools to hike fee by 15 per cent to comply with 7th Central Pay Commission, but withdrew its directions after the high Court stayed its order.

Following the order, the government had said it will conduct an audit of the financial accounts of all 1,700 private schools in the city to stop unjustified fee hike.

Some of the parents seeking admission of their wards in the nursery and other entry level classes complained that the schools were increasing tuition fee arbitrarily.  

Some of the parents who have admitted their wards in Bal Bharti School on Gangaram Marg have said that the school has not only increased the tuition fee, but has also demanded that six-month tuition fee be paid in advance without giving them the break up of the fee structure.

According to the guidelines, the private schools can take only one month fee. Bal Bharti School is charging Rs 9,000 extra and so many parents cannot afford such high fee.

Some of the private schools have made a joke of the government’s guidelines and the education system, said Sumit Vohra, founder of admissionsnursery.com, an online forum for parent community.

However, L.V. Sehgal, principal, Bal Bharti, said that the school authorities were within their right to increase the tuition fee and it was a routine process — increasing the fee by 10 per cent every year. “If some parents have complaints and they cannot pay the entire amount at once, they can write to us and we will allow them to pay in installments,” he added.