Delhi Minister Ashish Sood vows to take action against schools over fee hike, slams previous AAP govt for inaction

New Delhi [India], April 7 (ANI): Delhi Education Minister Ashish Sood on Monday vowed to take action against private schools that have increased their fees. Sood also accused the previous AAP government of neglecting oversight and allowing fee increases despite clear regulations.
Speaking at a press conference, Sood revealed that out of 1,677 private schools in Delhi, 335 are situated on government land, with many failing to adhere to the Delhi School Act of 1973, which mandates government approval before fee hikes.
"There are 1,677 private schools in Delhi, out of which 335 are on government lands. 114 schools have not been bound to take permission from the state government as per the Delhi School Act 1973. We are being blamed for increasing Delhi school fees. The Supreme Court passed an order in the 2004 Modern School case that Delhi schools are bound to take permission from the Directorate of Education before increasing their fees. But they (AAP) got this order dismissed in 2024 in the Delhi High Court," he said.
He highlighted several cases, including Ahlcon International School's controversial fee hikes amidst corruption charges, and announced that CM Rekha Gupta would head an investigation into alleged corrupt practices in schools, ensuring that all institutions undergo a thorough audit for the first time.
"Rekha Gupta will investigate the corruption in such cases where under-the-table money was taken. They allege that we increased Ahlcon International School's fees. This school was caught with a corruption of Rs 15 crore, and still it was given permission of 15 per cent fee spike in the same year (2022-23), and in 2024-25, it spiked the fees by 13 per cent. During this time, Atishi was the Chief Minister. Angel Public School increased the fees by 14 per cent in 2022-23, but no investigation was conducted. They are naming Salwan Public School, which was caught with misappropriation of Rs 1.66 crore, increased the fees by 23.84 per cent in 2023-24 and 14.68 per cent in 2024-25," Ashish Sood said.
"All 1,677 schools must be audited, while only 75 schools have been audited annually for the last 10 years. For the first time, a committee will be formed under the leadership of CM Rekha Gupta, and all schools will be audited, and if any school fails any criterion, it will not be spared," the Delhi Minister emphasized.
Earlier today, AAP Leader and LoP Atishi wrote to Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta over the issue of rising school fees in private schools and urged her to issue orders with immediate effect that no school collects the enhanced fee from any parent/guardian until accounts of the schools are audited.
AAP Leader and LoP Atishi urged the government to ensure that "all accounts of schools seeking a fee hike be audited by CAG empaneled auditors in a time-bound manner. Any approval for a fee hike of even 1-2 per cent should only be granted to schools whose legitimate expenses cannot be met without such an increase." (ANI)