Delhi: Minister Promises Crackdown on Unjust School Fee Increases; Exposes Past AAP Government's Corruption
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Synopsis
Delhi Education Minister Ashish Sood promises action against unjust school fee hikes, challenging former minister Manish Sisodia to provide evidence for a CBI probe. He criticizes the previous AAP government for irregularities in school audits and handling of EWS student admissions.
Key Takeaways
- Delhi government will investigate illegal fee hikes by schools.
- A complaint email ID provided for parents.
- Previous AAP government criticized for audit irregularities.
- Concerns over EWS student admissions and unpaid fees.
- Calls for accountability in private school management.
New Delhi, April 7 (NationPress) Committing to take action against unjustified fee increases by private educational institutions, Delhi's Education Minister Ashish Sood on Monday challenged former minister Manish Sisodia to present evidence to the CBI and initiate an investigation if he believes the BJP government has been negligent.
During a press conference, Sood assured that the Rekha Gupta-led state government would investigate which private schools unlawfully raised fees during the tenure of the AAP.
He also shared an email address – ddeact1@gmail.com – where parents can file complaints regarding unjust fee increases by schools.
Sood criticized the former AAP administration for alleged misconduct in auditing private schools and failing to take action against them for questionable motives.
“Why did they fail to report any misconduct by errant schools? We will register cases and within 10 days, we will publish details on our website about the fee hikes permitted by the AAP government in the past decade,” Sood stated.
“The prior government also engaged in irregularities concerning the admission of EWS students. In some instances, five EWS students from a single family were admitted to one school. The previous government left a debt of Rs 115 crore related to fee payment for these students that was unpaid to schools, leading to harassment of EWS students,” he remarked.
The Minister noted that the Delhi School Education Act, 1973 requires annual audits for all 1,677 private schools in the city. However, in the past decade, only approximately 75 schools were audited each year.
“The education department has no records of audit reports for any school concerning the past decade,” he added.
He claimed that a school found guilty of committing fraud worth Rs 15 crore was permitted to raise fees by 15 percent and 13 percent in two increments.
Labeling Sisodia as a jobless politician, Sood pointed out that he refers to himself as the “father of the education revolution” in the city, yet he allegedly extorted private schools and subsequently permitted them to increase fees.
“Did the Arvind Kejriwal government create any policies to regulate private school managements?” he questioned.
He mentioned that there are no records of any school's recognition being revoked and accused the previous government of issuing notices to schools while settling matters “under the table,” even as middle-class parents faced challenges due to salary hikes.
Earlier, in a video message, Leader of Opposition Atishi alleged that parents throughout the city were protesting against the arbitrary fee increases by private schools while the BJP government remained a passive observer.
Her party associate Sisodia emphasized the “revolution” in the education sector achieved in the city over the last 10 days.
