Delhi schools fee hike order under scanner; Directorate of vigilance seeks reply from education dept

Taking note of recent fee hikes in certain schools, the Delhi government's Directorate of Vigilance on Tuesday wrote a letter to the education department seeking reply regarding hikes on "pick and choose basis" and putting undue financial burden on parents.

The education department has also been asked to submit, information on the status of economically weaker section (EWS) quota admissions in the schools within a week.

The vigilance department has asked to submit information on the status of EWS quota from classes 1 to 8 along with percentage of EWS students in each class, whether the EWS quota was implemented for admissions in the pre-school classes along with their percentage, and status of EWS quota with percentage of students in classes above class 8.

The vigilance directorate, in the letter, highlighted 18 schools where norms of fee hike and EWS admissions were being flouted under the administration's nose.

"It seems the concerned DDE (Education) has failed to supervise the enforcement of above-mentioned provisions and there is also a possibility that these schools have been expelling the students of EWS category from the school despite no detention policy under Right To Education Act (2009)," the letter read.

According to the direction, the education department has to give pointwise clarification over anomalies found in selected schools in compliance with the education department's approval for fee hike and not filling seats as per the 25 per cent reservation for EWS.

The fee hike in several schools were allowed in violation of the rules, which states that fees collected by the managing committee may be utilised for meeting capital or contingent expenditure provided that there is saving from the fee collected,” it said.

“However, from the fee hike orders issued by the education department, the expenditure for capital in the schools was met from the fees collected itself,” the letter said.

"Out of 18 fee hike orders, it has been observed that in 13 have been allowed from retrospective effect and in 6 out of these 13 cases, this hike was allowed w.e.f. 01.04.2023 resulting in huge arrears of fee to be borne by the parents," the letter read.

The vigilance department said that no reason for this retrospective hike was mentioned in the order or in the original file. There is no provision in the Rules for retrospective hike to be allowed while dealing the fee hike cases of schools, it said.

"This retrospective fee hike shows that there is deliberate intention to enrich the school management at the cost of parents," the department observed.

The education department has been asked to provide details of fee hike cases from the 2019-2020 academic session till 2023-2024 with cases in which the fee hike was approved and the quantum of the fee hike.
 

(with PTI inputs)