"Children deserve compassion, not coercion": Delhi CM on schools hiring bouncers

New Delhi: Amid "alarming" reports of schools employing bouncers to intimidate parents and students, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Friday asserted that children deserve compassion and not coercion.

"There have been alarming reports of schools employing bouncers to intimidate parents and students. Education is a right, not a business. Our children deserve compassion, not coercion. Schools must remain spaces of learning, values and nation-building," she said.

Also read Delhi govt initiates teacher training push to implement NEP at school-level

The Delhi government has already announced that it will bring an ordinance to implement the Delhi School Education (Transparency in Fixation and Regulation of Fees) Bill, 2025, to control arbitrary fee hikes by private schools. The chief minister's post on X came a day after the Delhi High Court called out Delhi Public School, Dwarka, for using "bouncers" to block the entry of students in its premises over a fee dispute.

Noting such a practice had no place in an institution of learning, Justice Sachin Datta said public shaming and intimidation of a student due to financial default not only constitute mental harassment but also undermine the psychological well-being and self-worth of a child.