Private schools have surplus funds, alleges Delhi Govt in SC: Report

Private schools have accused the Delhi Government of “doing vote bank politics” over fees. The government has moved the Supreme Court.

representational image (source: Shutterstock)representational image (source: Shutterstock)

Team Careers360 | June 16, 2021 | 03:01 PM IST

NEW DELHI: The Delhi Government has filed a petition in the Supreme Court alleging that private schools in Delhi have surplus funds of Rs 1 crore to Rs 48 crore and therefore should not be allowed to charge annual and developmental fees, according to a report by Times of India.

In the special leave petition, the Delhi Government said that 35 private schools in Delhi had surplus funds with the top school having Rs 48 crore as surplus.

The government said that the figure was determined after evaluation of the fee hike proposal applicable for session 2020-21 and projections for 2021-22, according to TOI.

The government also alleged that less than 60% of the fee collected is used for paying the teachers’ salaries.

It also said that the powers of the directorate of education to regulate fees had been affirmed by the Supreme Court twice and twice also by division benches of Delhi High Court.

The government also stated that tuition fees were meant to cover costs such as salaries, however, the schools were levying annual charges which accounted for sports equipment, cultural and co-curricular activities.

‘Doing vote bank politics’

However, the private schools accused the government of perpetuating “falsehoods” and playing “vote bank politics”.

Kamal Gupta, who represents the Action Committee for Unaided Recognised Private Schools, an umbrella organisation of private schools in Delhi, said that the government had never passed an order against the schools mentioned in the petition and reported by TOI. Action Committee filed the petition in the Delhi High Court against the Delhi Government order on regulating school fees.

“It was never expected that an elected government would stoop down to such levels of deceit and falsehood in order to achieve its political objectives of attracting masses by doing vote bank politics. In none of the 11 schools named in the petition has the DoE passed any orders whatsoever, even coining a surplus, for the years ending 31.3.2019 or 31.3.2020,” said Gupta.

Gupta said that any orders passed by the directorate of education in the past five years have been stayed by the Delhi High Court.

He claimed that the schools are “in deficit of crores of Rupees” and that “the Delhi School Education Act and the judgments of the Supreme Court and High Court, have repeatedly held that Capital Expenditure can be incurred from out of fees”.

“There is no truth in such figures circulated by the government, which are an eye wash and coined with a view to sensationalize the issue. These false facts were never placed before the single judge, which allowed the petition of the Action Committee in the first place,” Gupta said.

School fees and Delhi Government

The Delhi Government's special leave petition challenged the Delhi High Court order that allowed private schools to collect annual and development fees.

The Delhi Government, in 2020, had ordered that private schools should only collect tuition fees during the pandemic.

A private schools association filed a petition against the order in the Delhi High Court where a single-bench judge had noted that the Delhi government has no power to indefinitely postpone collection of annual charges and development fees by private unaided schools.

The court also refused to stay the order despite petitions from the Delhi Government and students to reconsider.

Write to us at news@careers360.com.

Follow us for the latest education news on colleges and universities, admission, courses, exams, research, education policies, study abroad and more..

To get in touch, write to us at news@careers360.com.

Download Our App

Start you preparation journey for JEE / NEET for free today with our APP

  • Students250M+Students
  • College30,000+Colleges
  • Exams500+Exams
  • Ebooks1500+Ebooks
  • Certification12000+Certifications