Latest news with #DPSDwarka
Time of India
4 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
‘We're not ATMs': Why parents are fed up of arbitrary school fee hikes
Pulled out of class by bouncers, left out of sports trials, kept out of class WhatsApp groups, taunted by teachers, and then expelled… Delhi parent Divya Mattey says his 16-year-old had to experience all this and more last month. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now All because Mattey and some other parents have teamed up against a fee hike by DPS Dwarka which, they claim, did not have the approval of the directorate of education. 'Why is the school picking on children? They should fight us in court,' says Mattey, whose son is among the 32 students struck off the rolls earlier this month. The school contends that the hike is justified in view of expenses incurred, and the names had been struck off on account of non-payment of dues. This week, the took a stern view, demanding to know from the Delhi government and private school managements how tuition fee could be hiked if the schools were running on subsidised land given by the government. This standoff might have happened in the Capital but the issue will resonate with parents across the country. Come April, fees go up by an estimated 10-40% every year. A recent survey of 31,000 parents by LocalCircles across 300 districts found that 44% reported a 50-80% rise in school fees over the past three years. About 8% reported hikes exceeding 80%, and an overwhelming 93% blamed these arbitrary actions on government inaction. #dps Dwarka Denies Entry To 32 Students | School Puts Bouncers At Gate, Sends Students Back Mridul Saxena, whose children study in a prominent school in Lucknow's Gomtinagar, says salaried folk like him struggle to keep up. 'I work as a consultant in a private company where the maximum salary hike is 6-8% every year. But the fee is being hiked by 10-15% every year. I pay a quarterly fee of around Rs 39,000 for my son who is in Class 4 and around Rs 42,000 for my daughter in Class 8,' he told TOI. Even for a four-year-old, fees can run into lakhs. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now A Hyderabad parent pointed out that fees at a prominent Bachupally school had surged by 65% from Rs 2.3 lakh in 2023 to Rs 3.7 lakh in 2024 when his four-year-old went from nursery to lower kindergarten. D for dilemma Power tilts unmistakably toward institutions, while parents are left clutching invoices they don't understand and demands they cannot question. 'Your child is already enrolled. You can't just walk away. And if you speak up, you worry they'll be targeted,' says Anubha Sahai, president of the India-Wide Parents' Association. Those who protest have to face reprisal. Bengaluru-based Sijo Sebastian, whose child's fees increased from Rs 55,000 in 2013 to Rs 1.62 lakh in 2022, alleges that his son was expelled because he protested. 'There are different ways in which schools exploit parents. Some schools print and publish their own textbooks, which is just copy-pasting content with no authors' name, and charge double,' says Sebastian, who is secretary of the advocacy group Voice of Parent. I n Lucknow, parents say they are compelled to pay additional money for coffee table books, merchandise, coding classes and National Education Policy short-term courses, renovation of school buildings, bus/van charges, and mandatory preparation for common university entrance tests. Plus, parents are told to purchase books and uniforms from specific vendors designated by the institutions, who charge more. Mahesh Mishra, national general secretary of non-profit Rashtriya Yuva Chetna Manch, says, 'We are told that if you cannot pay the fees, take admission elsewhere. How can you guarantee that the other school will not do the same thing?' He says fee hikes should be done uniformly across the state. Sahai points out that though some states have fee regulatory committees (FRCs), these are toothless tigers that rarely convene, let alone intervene. What makes it worse, she adds, is the absence of financial transparency. 'Schools don't audit their accounts or share expenditure details. So, when they raise fees, it's arbitrary.' Aparajita Gautam, Delhi Parents' Association president, says of the 1,677 Delhi schools that have 18 lakh students enrolled, 335 have received subsidised land from DDA and should be audited. 'But the audits are never done in a transparent manner. Whatever the political dispensation, there is no change in Delhi schools.' Sample this: a TOI report found that two-thirds of Madhya Pradesh schools have failed to provide information about their fee structures or hikes to the govt for this academic year. Only 10,181 of the total 34,714 schools have disclosed this information despite complaints from parents about unjustified hikes. P for private equity A new model is emerging as private equity (PE) firms make deeper inroads into education. 'What we're witnessing is the slow erosion of a stable schooling experience,' says Avnita Bir, director-principal of RN Podar School, Mumbai. 'When a single owner shepherds a school through a child's academic life, it brings consistency. But when one PE firm sells to another and then to a third — each focused on valuations rather than values — where is the child in that equation?' E for EMI The Consumer Price Index shows that tuition fee in schools/colleges increased by 75% between April 2014-April 2025, while prices for books and journals went up by 58%. Charges for coaching centres and private tutors also went up by 61%. The result is what was once considered a proud investment in a child's future has, for many, begun to feel like an unrelenting debt cycle. Parents sit with calculators and loan applications not to plan vacations or car EMIs, but to chart out school fee payments. With schools nudging parents toward lump-sum, biennial or triennial advances, often padded with rising late fees, a new kind of fix has emerged: finance firms offering EMIs for schooling. Most schools have a formal partnership with a financing firm. One ICSE school in Khar, Mumbai, for example, now offers three EMI options via a fintech tie-up — ranging from zero-interest seven-month plans to twelve-month loans with rates nudging 2.95%. A payment platform company says schools across the city are increasingly onboarding such services. 'Both my daughters went to an international school,' shares one father. 'But after I left my CEO job to launch my own venture, when the hike came, I just couldn't keep up. I had to take out a loan to pay their fees.' A survey by PNB MetLife and Nielsen IQ revealed that parents are spending up to Rs 5.3 lakh a year on their children's education and extracurricular activities and are even willing to make lifestyle adjustments. The research, titled 'Financial Planning in the Era of Rising Education Cost', was conducted in April 2023. 'More than one in three parents misjudge the expense they would incur and end up overshooting their budget by 27%,' says Sameer Bansal, chief distribution officer of the insurance firm. I for inflation About 10-15% annual hike is inevitable due to various cost factors involved, say schools. 'There are 49 items that a school needs to pay for, and all of it under the commercial slab. This includes water, power, property tax services, insurances, taxes on school buses etc. We do not get GST refunds,' points out D Shashi Kumar, secretary of the Associated Managements of Primary and Secondary Schools of Karnataka. 'Additionally, infrastructure investments are also huge. Starting a skill lab will cost as much as Rs 30-40 lakh. There are fire safety, building safety, and land conversion expenses. Starting a new section costs Rs 75,000 in a CBSE school. While we condemn any hike above 15% by any school, we believe annual hikes are unavoidable,' he says. G for Gujarat Model Some states like Gujarat have instituted effective fee regulatory committees that take quick cognizance of parents' complaints. In the last two years, six private schools in Gujarat have been slapped with fines ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs 2.5 lakh for charging fees higher than what was fixed by the FRC. In Delhi, the BJP government has announced that it will issue an ordinance on fee regulation that entails establishing of regulatory committees and heavy penalties for non-compliance. West Bengal is planning to introduce one as well. But parents don't think much will change. With additional reporting from Sruthy Ullhas and Mohita Tewari
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Business Standard
5 days ago
- Politics
- Business Standard
Delhi govt cracks down on private school fee hikes, plans ordinance
The Delhi government is preparing to introduce an ordinance within a week to regulate fees in private schools, aiming to curb arbitrary hikes and strengthen oversight. The draft, part of the proposed Delhi School Education Bill, 2025, includes penalties of up to ₹50,000 for violations and provisions for the confiscation of school property in repeat offences. According to a report by news agency ANI, the draft ordinance has already been sent to the Law Department for vetting. It proposes the formation of committees at the school, district, and review levels to assess and approve fee structures. The bill was initially scheduled for presentation during a special legislative session on May 13–14, which was later cancelled. It is now expected to be tabled as a full bill in the upcoming Monsoon Session. DPS Dwarka incident triggers public outrage The move follows mounting concerns over unregulated fee hikes, particularly after a controversy involving DPS Dwarka, where several students were reportedly expelled for failing to pay increased fees. The Delhi High Court intervened, terming the school's actions 'inhuman' and ordering the reinstatement of affected students upon partial payment of the hiked fee. Parents alleged that 'bouncers' were deployed to block entry, and some students were confined to the library. Show-cause notices served to defaulting schools On April 16, the government issued show-cause notices to 10 schools accused of arbitrary fee increases and failing to submit mandatory audit reports. So far, the government has collected audit reports from 600 schools, though the names of the penalised institutions have not been disclosed. New audit framework and corruption checks planned Delhi Education Minister Ashish Sood earlier told ANI that a 'strong documentation system' would be established to scrutinise past approvals of fee hikes, investigate potential corruption, and prevent future malpractice. 'We will not tolerate any such malpractice under any circumstances,' he said. 'We aim to collect audit reports from all 1,670 schools in Delhi. There will be no room for dishonesty,' Sood had said. Chief Minister vows to protect students and parents Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has also reiterated the government's commitment to ensuring fair treatment of parents and students. She has stated that unauthorised fee hikes and harassment will not be tolerated under her administration.
The Hindu
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Delhi HC asks parents to deposit 50% hiked fees, directs school to allow students in classes
The Delhi High Court has directed over 100 parents, embroiled in fee dispute with Delhi Public School in Dwarka, to deposit 50 per cent of the hiked fees for academic year 2025-26 following which their wards will be allowed to continue their studies. Justice Vikas Mahajan, in a May 16 order which was released on Wednesday night, clarified that the rebate of 50 per cent is on the hiked component of the fee and the base fee should be paid in full. The court passed the interim order on a petition by 102 parents seeking protection of their children amid the ongoing fee hike issue at DPS Dwarka and sought its takeover by the government and Lieutenant Governor in the capital. The plea alleged that in the last few years, the school has pressured and used coercive methods to collect the unapproved fees from parents, who have insisted on not paying the unapproved fees. The high court said the interim relief sought by the petitioners in this case about academic year 2025-26 does not persuade it as nothing has been placed on record to show that the Delhi government's Directorate of Education (DoE) has rejected the fixation of fee by the school for the academic session 2024-25 onwards. 'Until and unless the DoE reviews the financial statements of the school and on its findings, rejects the statement of fee providing for enhancement for the academic sessions 2024-25 onwards on the touch stone of 'profiteering' and 'commercialisation' of education, the enunciation of law as noted above does not provide for any embargo on such enhancement of fee,' it said. The court further said that the parents of the students studying in DPS Dwarka ought to pay the fee as per the statements of fee submitted by the school for the academic sessions 2024-25 onwards, till the time the DoE takes a decision on the same, and further subject to the final outcome of the writ petition. The court noted the submission of the counsel for the school that the institution is amenable to the petitioners paying 50 per cent of the hiked school fee. 'Therefore, it is directed that the wards of the petitioners shall be allowed to continue their studies in their respective classes till the pendency of the present petition subject to the parents depositing 50 per cent of the hiked school fee for the academic years 2024-25 onwards. It is clarified that the rebate of 50 per cent is on the hiked component of the fee, the base fee shall be paid in full,' it said. The court also issued notice to the school, LG, and Delhi government on the main petition and asked them to file their replies within four weeks and listed the matter for hearing on August 28. The parents' counsel had said the school increased the fee by Rs 7,000 a month and now raised it by Rs 9,000 monthly. The petition filed by 102 parents said they have submitted various representations to the office of LG, highlighting violations of land allotment clause by DPS Dwarka, and claimed non-compliance of orders passed by Delhi government's Department of Education (DoE). The children, the plea pointed out, were harassed due to non-payment of unapproved fees. The DoE and LG were as a result sought to be directed to immediately take over the school for the safety of children. The petition further said the DoE again in May 28, 2024 order directed the management of DPS Dwarka that the students are not put for any academic loss and there should not be any ill treatment to them and they should be allowed to continue in the classes for their studies and appear in exams. "On the one hand, the office of the DoE seems to be vigilant and is fully aware of the misconduct of the school and the record also reveals that the orders have been issued. But the larger question is what is stopping the office of the DoE, Delhi to takeover after obtaining the approval from the office of the administrator, that is, the LG of Delhi who is appointed as administrator under Article 239AA of the Constitution of India," it said. Referring to another petition pending before a coordinate bench of the high court, the plea said the school was pulled up for treating students with "indignity" over a fee dispute by confining them in a library and not allowing them to attend classes or interact with peers. The High Court in that case in April examined an inspection report of an eight-member committee led by the district magistrate (southwest), flagging several discriminatory practices against students. The report said the students were barred from attending regular classes and confined to the library, restricted access to the canteen, not allowed to communicate with friends and closely monitored by guards during washroom visits.
News18
6 days ago
- Politics
- News18
Delhi HC Directs DPS Dwarka To Reinstate Students, Asks Parents To Pay 50% Of Fee Hike
Last Updated: Over 100 parents of DPS Dwarka students had moved the high court, challenging the school's decision to hike fees The Delhi High Court recently allowed students of Delhi Public School, Dwarka, whose names were struck off, to continue their studies, subject to the condition that parents must pay 50 per cent of the increased portion of the fee for academic years 2024–25 onwards. 'It is directed that the wards of the petitioners shall be allowed to continue their studies in their respective classes till the pendency of the present petition subject to the parents depositing 50 per cent of the hiked school fee for the academic year 2024-25 onwards," a bench led by Justice Vikas Mahajan directed. The court was hearing a plea filed by over 100 parents of DPS Dwarka students, challenging the school's demand for a hiked fee and seeking relief after their children's names were struck off the school rolls due to non-payment. The petitioner-parents before the high court contended that the Directorate of Education (DoE) passed an order wherein it had rejected DPS Dwarka's proposed fee hike for the academic year 2023–24. Despite the said order, the parents argued that the school continued demanding the hiked fee and struck off students' names who didn't pay. Weighing the contentions, the court explained the legal framework governing private unaided schools like DPS Dwarka and said such schools are allowed to fix their fees based on projected expenses without prior approval from the DoE. However, the court also clarified that the DoE has the power to review the fee structure under Section 17(3) of the Delhi School Education Act. The court said the DoE can examine whether the fee hike is arbitrary, irrational, or amounts to 'profiteering" or 'commercialisation" of education. If, upon such finding, the answer is in the affirmative, the DoE has the power to pass an appropriate order. While referring to the order passed by DoE concerning the academic year 2023–24, the Court noted that it had already examined the issue and rejected the fee hike after analysing the audited financial statements of the school. Although the school has challenged the said order, the court has not granted any stay. Therefore, the school is legally bound to follow the DoE's order as it stands. Noting that the petitioners have also sought interim relief with respect to the subsequent academic years, including the current year 2025–26, the court held that the DoE has not yet rejected the fixation of fee by the school for the academic session 2024-25 onwards. Therefore, the school is legally allowed to charge the projected fee for these years until the DoE intervenes. 'Until and unless the DoE reviews the financial statements of the school and, on its findings, rejects the statement of fee… the law does not provide for any embargo on such enhancement," the court held. After taking note of the submission made by senior advocates Pinaki Misra and Puneet Mittal, appearing on behalf of DPS Dwarka, who, on instructions, stated that the school is amenable to the petitioners paying 50 per cent of the hiked school fee, the court passed an interim direction allowing the same. The matter will now be heard next on August 28. Watch India Pakistan Breaking News on CNN-News18. Get breaking news, in-depth analysis, and expert perspectives on everything from politics to crime and society. Stay informed with the latest India news only on News18. Download the News18 App to stay updated! First Published:
Indian Express
7 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Delhi HC asks parents to deposit 50% hiked fees, directs school to allow students in classes
The Delhi High Court has directed over 100 parents, embroiled in fee dispute with Delhi Public School in Dwarka, to deposit 50 per cent of the hiked fees for academic year 2025-26 following which their wards will be allowed to continue their studies. Justice Vikas Mahajan, in a May 16 order which was released on Wednesday night, clarified that the rebate of 50 per cent is on the hiked component of the fee and the base fee should be paid in full. The court passed the interim order on a petition by 102 parents seeking protection of their children amid the ongoing fee hike issue at DPS Dwarka and sought its takeover by the government and Lieutenant Governor in the capital. The plea alleged that in the last few years, the school has pressured and used coercive methods to collect the unapproved fees from parents, who have insisted on not paying the unapproved fees. The school has resorted to 'unhealthy, dirty and inhumane practices' by having bouncers with an understanding that the bouncers can manage children better than teachers, the parents claimed. The high court said the interim relief sought by the petitioners in this case with regard to academic year 2025-26 does not persuade it as nothing has been placed on record to show that the Delhi government's Directorate of Education (DoE) has rejected the fixation of fee by the school for the academic session 2024-25 onwards. 'Until and unless the DoE reviews the financial statements of the school and on its findings, rejects the statement of fee providing for enhancement for the academic sessions 2024-25 onwards on the touch stone of 'profiteering' and 'commercialisation' of education, the enunciation of law as noted above does not provide for any embargo on such enhancement of fee,' it said. The court further said that the parents of the students studying in DPS Dwarka ought to pay the fee as per the statements of fee submitted by the school for the academic sessions 2024-25 onwards, till the time the DoE takes a decision on the same, and further subject to the final outcome of the writ petition. The court noted the submission of the counsel for the school that the institution is amenable to the petitioners paying 50 per cent of the hiked school fee. 'Therefore, it is directed that the wards of the petitioners shall be allowed to continue their studies in their respective classes till the pendency of the present petition subject to the parents depositing 50 per cent of the hiked school fee for the academic years 2024-25 onwards. It is clarified that the rebate of 50 per cent is on the hiked component of the fee, the base fee shall be paid in full,' it said. The court also issued notice to the school, LG and Delhi government on the main petition and asked them to file their replies within four weeks and listed the matter for hearing on August 28. The parents' counsel had said the school increased the fee by Rs 7,000 a month and now raised it by Rs 9,000 monthly. The petition filed by 102 parents said they have submitted various representations to the office of LG, highlighting gross violations of land allotment clause by DPS Dwarka, and claimed non-compliance of orders passed by Delhi government's Department of Education (DoE). The children, the plea pointed out, were harassed due to non-payment of unapproved fees. The DoE and LG were as a result sought to be directed to immediately take over the school for the safety of children. It said the DoE, in its May 22, 2024 order, directed the school to refund the excess and unapproved fee charged by them for the academic session 2022-23. The petition further said the DoE again in May 28, 2024 order directed the management of DPS Dwarka that the students are not put for any academic loss and there should not be any ill treatment to them and they should be allowed to continue in the classes for their studies and appear in exams. 'On the one hand, the office of the DoE seems to be vigilant and is fully aware of the misconduct of the school and the record also reveals that the orders have been issued. But the larger question is what is stopping the office of the DoE, Delhi to takeover after obtaining the approval from the office of the administrator, that is, the LG of Delhi who is appointed as administrator under Article 239AA of the Constitution of India,' it said. Referring to another petition pending before a coordinate bench of the high court, the plea said the school was pulled up for treating students with 'indignity' over a fee dispute by confining them in a library and not allowing them to attend classes or interact with peers. The high court in that case in April examined an inspection report of an eight-member committee led by the district magistrate (southwest), flagging several discriminatory practices against students. The report said the students were barred from attending regular classes and confined to the library, restricted access to the canteen, not allowed to communicate with friends and closely monitored by guards during washroom visits.
