Reacting to a circular issued by the AAP government allowing all recognised unaided private schools on Delhi Development Authority (DDA) land to increase their fees by 15% as an interim measure to comply with the recommendations of the 7th Central Pay Commission (CPC), the Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly, Vijender Gupta, said the government has “once again opened a pandora’s box of harassment and trouble for parents”.
In a statement, Mr. Gupta alleged that with this order, the government had “paved the way for earning of money by school management and exploitation of teachers and staff”.
Urges review
He said that the interim order had been issued “arbitrarily” by the government and that it contains a “large number of defects and infirmities which has the potential for an unending legal battle”.
The BJP leader urged the government to review its decision in the larger public interest as it had “arbitrarily” increased the fee without taking into account whether reserve funds are available with schools”.
The circular allowing the increase was issued on October 17 and stated that the a fee hike was “not mandatory” and that all private schools must “first explore the possibility of utilising existing reserves to meet any shortfall in payment of salaries and allowances, as a consequence of increase in the salaries and allowances of employees”.
“Schools in Delhi have to comply with the 7th Central Pay Commission recommendations, which ask for a nearly 25% increase in salaries of teachers. The arrears will need to be paid with 7.5% of tuition fees of students, while the new salaries will be funded by the 15% hike, with effect from July 1, 2017,” the circular reads.
The circular mandates the managing committee of the school to hold a meeting with teachers and parents, which would include at least one parent representative from each section of the school and present the detailed budget of the school.
