The Delhi government’s Directorate of Education (DoE) on Thursday issued an order withdrawing the recognition given to a private school in Dwarka for what it termed was an arbitrary increase in fees during the 2016-2017 academic session.
No option left
The order said the DoE had no option left but to withdraw the recognition given to Mount Carmel School, Dwarka, under the Delhi School Education Act and Rules, 1973, after issuing notices and holding hearings on the matter since 2016. The school had increased the fee by 25% in 2016-2017, the DoE stated.
Keeping the students’ interest in mind, the withdrawal of recognition would take effect on April 1, 2019, the order said, adding that no new admissions should be made in the meantime.
The school had argued that it had not been given land by the Delhi Development Authority on concessional rates, so the Delhi High Court judgment that gives the DoE the power to regulate fees of such schools was not applicable to it, the order said. The DoE, however, said the March 9, 2000 allotment letter for the land given to the school showed it had been given the property at a concessional rate.
The school had also argued that being a minority institution it was exempt from the requirement of prior approval for increasing fees, but the DoE said the Supreme Court and High Court orders cited were about EWS admissions in minority schools, not fees.
