Delhi schools asked to withdraw fee hike

The agitation by parents against the fee hike by private schools has gathered momentum following the Delhi government asking 16 schools to withdraw the hike within 15 days. The agitation has also found support from an unexpected quarter -- teachers of private schools.

Das, general secretary of the Unaided School Teachers Association, rejected the contention by private schools that revision of fees was necessary for providing ''quality education''. These schools are generating surplus funds to open more branches, not to provide better infrastructure to students, he alleged.

Most private schools, which had only one or two branches until a few years ago, have opened several branches investing millions of rupees collected from parents, Das said. These schools had also acquired several buses and cars from the surplus funds generated by overcharging parents for transport, which was earlier being provided by the Delhi Transport Corporation at a nominal rate, he alleged.

Das said there was no truth in the claim of private schools that students were scoring high marks because of quality education imparted by them.

''Actually, most of these students initially have their education in government and other lesser known schools and join private schools after the ninth (standard), hoping tough competition will help them perform better in board exams,'' said Das, a teacher in one of the private schools which has been served notice by the Delhi government.

The government issued notice for withdrawal of the fee hike after all the 16 private schools, where a random inquiry was conducted, were found to have violated many rules of the 1973 Education Act.

Earlier this week, Education Minister Harsh Vardhan said the government does not mind derecognising or taking over these schools if required.