Delhi Schools Hike Fee, Students and Parents Rattled

Delhi Schools Raise Fees, Sparking Outrage

The new academic year for Delhi's private schools has once again commenced, burdening parents with the added financial strain of exorbitant monthly fee hikes. Some Delhi schools have raised fees by forty percent, blatantly disregarding both the Supreme Court's verdict and the orders from the Delhi government regarding school fees, showing no fear whatsoever.

According to the Directorate of Education of the Government of NCT of Delhi, there are approximately 1,800 private unaided recognised schools in the capital, of which over 460 schools have been granted land by government agencies. These Delhi schools are required to obtain approval before revising their fee structure.

"In Delhi, 262 such schools have submitted online requests to raise fees in the financial year 2023-24. Recognised private Delhi schools with land allotted by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) cannot increase their fees without explicit approval from the Directorate of Education (DOE)," stated an official.

All recognised private unaided schools have been instructed by the government to submit their proposals for fee increases for the academic session 2024-25 to the Director of Education online via the directorate's website. The deadline for submission was from April 1, 2024, to April 30th, 2024. "Any complaints regarding fee hikes without prior approval will be taken seriously and may result in legal action against the concerned school", stated an official to The Probe.

Despite these guidelines, Delhi private schools have increased fees without the permission of the Directorate of Education (DOE). Parents are expressing their dissatisfaction against this development, and the number of complaints being registered is growing.

Many parents have already paid the increased school fees, albeit reluctantly, while others have resorted to alternative measures such as withdrawing their child from the school because of pressure from the school authorities.

"My daughter is a student at APEEJAY School, who has advanced from class seventh to the next level. I was asked to pay the revised school fee, which is unreasonably high, or transfer my child to another school. The school authorities showed no sympathy for a child unable to pay the fees. I reached out to the Aam Aadmi Party Education Minister, but was unable to secure an appointment to meet with Education Minister Atishi Marlena Singh," expressed T. Ahmed, tears welling in his eyes. Ahmed is in dire financial condition and is one among many parents who are unable to pay the hiked fees.

Bhupender Singh, a resident of Khanpur in South Delhi, whose son is studying in class II, stated, "On what basis has the school raised the fees? They haven't informed the parents about it. They have simply instructed parents to submit the fees on time, or else students will face fines for late fee submission."

"I have also filed a police complaint against APEEJAY School, alleging that they are extorting money from parents," he added.

Singh also mentioned that the parents have been suffering greatly and the authorities have taken no action. "Some parents went and complained to the SDM here, but it’s been four months and no action has been taken. There is no reply. They haven’t even conducted an inspection. From Apeejay Saket school alone, there are about 250 parents who have been suffering a lot and protesting. The Principal’s office has air conditioning, but the children do not have these facilities. So, when they charge a development fee of about 40,000, on what basis are they charging? Can you imagine, if 2,500 students pay this kind of amount, how much money the school is accumulating and what facilities are they providing to the children?" asks Singh.

Singh states that a parent from Saket was unable to pay the increased fees, and the principal said that his children would be barred from writing the exams. "It's so heartrending that this parent actually told the school authorities that he would still pay the nominal fees, but the principal didn’t agree, and both his children were stopped from writing the exams. It was only after all of us intervened and pressured the school authorities that they finally allowed the children to write the exams," states Singh.

Another parent, Mahesh Chander Sharma, whose child is enrolled in Green Field School, questions, "When the education department of the Delhi government issued a circular stating that no private school in Delhi can raise school fees without prior permission from the Director of Education, how is such non-compliance occurring?"

When The Probe spoke to APEEJAY school coordinator Sarita Chawla, she confirmed, "Yes, the school fees have been raised in our school". When asked whether the school sought permission from the Department of Education of the Delhi government, she responded, "The DOE has not granted permission to anyone, and that's their approach—they keep delaying permission. After repeated attempts by the school to obtain permission without success, we raised the fees accordingly."

Meanwhile, the education director has issued a warning to private schools once again, stating, "No school can increase school fees," and has extended the deadline for submission of requests for fee hikes until April 30, which was previously April 15. "If any school violates the regulations, action will be taken against them," added a senior DOE official. 

Delhi Schools Hike Fees: Parents in Distress

Because of the latest development, parents are caught in a quandary at the beginning of the new academic session, unsure whether to pay the earlier school fee or the newly increased one. Aprajita Gautam, President of the Delhi Parents Association, expressed, "Many schools have raised school fees by 10-20 percent, yet parents have not been informed about the basis for these fee hikes."

"It's astonishing that fees are being increased under various pretexts such as school development fees, annual charges, development charges, transportation fees, and even in the guise of providing air conditioning," she lamented. Gautam added, "We have been urging the education department for some time now to publicly disclose all the details, informing which schools have received approval to raise school fees and when this permission was granted."

Nearly all Delhi private schools have raised their fees substantially. Parents from various localities report that schools have claimed to have obtained permission from the education department. However, schools are not providing any evidence of this permission from the government.

Muneesh Kumar (name changed), whose son attends APEEJAY School in Sheikh Sarai, expressed, "I paid the development charges last year and this year as well. The total fee for April, including all charges, is Rs 42,229, without any explanation for the hike."

Reports have surfaced indicating that schools such as Delhi Public School, APEEJAY, Maharaja Agrasen, St Thomas, and many others have asked parents to pay the increased fees according to the new fee structure. As news of the fee hike gained momentum, parents of DPS, Dwarka started protests against the revised fees.

One notable case is the fee hike by APEEJAY School (ID1923297), located on J-block Gurudwara Road, Saket, New Delhi-17. According to information obtained from the Department of Education through an Right To Information (RTI) request (ID No 64571, dated 13.10.23), the school did not submit a fee hike proposal for the academic session 2016-17, and proposals for fee hikes were rejected from 2017-21. In the academic year 2020-21, fee hike proposals were suspended by order dated 8.06.2022, and no private unaided school could increase fees. However, in 2022-23, fee hike requests for the academic session were accepted, with some schools permitted to increase fees by only 5 percent.

According to the NCT of Delhi, Director of Education (Private School Branch), schools were directed to collect annual school fees (only on all permitted heads of fees) from their students as fixed under the DSEAR, 1973, for the academic year 2020-21, but after providing a deduction of 15 percent on that amount and in lieu of unutilised facilities by the students during the relevant period of the said academic year.

In the financial year 2020-21, if the monthly fee of the school comprised tuition fees of Rs 2000, development fee of Rs 500 (subject to the maintenance of DRF Account by the school), and annual charges of Rs 500, the total fee per month amounted to Rs 3000. As per the Delhi High Court order, the school was authorised to collect a monthly fee of Rs 2250 in the financial year 2020-21 after a deduction of 15 percent. If the school collected fees exceeding the amount directed by the Delhi High Court, the excess shall be refunded to the parents or adjusted in subsequent months' fees.

Furthermore, no specific charges such as transportation charges and development charges were to be levied from the parents while the schools remained closed. If the school previously collected fees from parents on a quarterly basis, fees are now to be collected monthly only.

The order also stipulated that schools operating on land allotted by the DDA or other land-owning agencies, with the condition to seek approval of the Director (education) before any fee increase, shall collect the above-mentioned fees based on the last fee structure approved by the Director (education). 

Drawing from the rule book, it's clear that the Managing Committee of schools must adhere to strict guidelines to prevent imposing additional financial burdens through the introduction of new fee heads. This mandate, in line with the orders of the Delhi high court, underscores the necessity for schools to comply with legal directives. The severity of non-compliance cannot be overstated, as defaulting schools risk facing consequential actions under Section 24 of the Delhi School Education Act and Rules, 1973.

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