Govt. tables private school fee regulation Bill amid protest by AAP legislators
The Bill was tabled amid a protest by the Opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which termed it a 'blueprint for loot'.
Speaker Vijender Gupta said detailed discussions will take place on Tuesday.
The government had approved the Bill in April amid a stir by parents over the 'arbitrary' fee hikes by private schools in the national capital.
Explaining the modalities, the Minister said, 'The Bill will apply to all private unaided recognised schools in Delhi – irrespective of board, land status or minority status. Every school will have to submit its proposed fee structure for the next three academic years. Fees can be revised only once every three years, which will give financial stability to parents, and they will be well informed.'
Mr. Sood said strict penalties ranging from ₹1 lakh to ₹10 lakh will be imposed for violations of the Bill, and a fine of ₹50,000 for any coercive action on students for non-payment of fees.
Alleging that the previous governments entered into 'under-the-table' settlements with private school managements and did not act against 'violations' under the Delhi School Education Act, 1973, Mr. Sood added, 'This issue is not a recent problem, but one that has been troubling parents in Delhi for the past several decades. But now we are taking decisive steps to solve it so that education is not just within the reach of a select few, but accessible to every child.'
Barbs exchanged
Leader of the Opposition Atishi claimed that 'no public consultations took place' while framing the Bill. In response, Mr. Sood said, 'We have consulted everyone we had to.'
Ms. Atishi added that the Bill should be sent to a Select Committee and directions must be issued to reverse all fee hikes during the previous 2024-25 academic session. Earlier in the day, she claimed there is no provision in the Bill for audits and 'it empowers schools, not parents'.
Operation Sindoor
The Assembly also held a discussion on the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor. BJP legislator Shikha Roy said the retaliatory strikes by India should be incorporated in the school education syllabus.
'I request my government to make this [Operation Sindoor] a part of the syllabus for Delhi students as soon as possible,' she said.
The discussion on the strikes carried out by the Indian armed forces saw AAP's Burari MLA Sanjeev Jha hit out at the BJP-ruled government at the Centre, prompting the Speaker to order the Opposition MLA to be marshalled out of the House for using 'derogatory language against the Prime Minister'.
The Speaker also directed that the words used by the MLA be expunged from the proceedings.
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