The school authorities have refused to share the letter issued by the DoE, sanctioning the fee hike. Parents doubt whether the mandatory audit has been conducted at all.
Last week ASN Senior Secondary School in Mayur Vihar Phase I had issued a circular to parents of school students stating that tuition fees had been increased from the year 2016-17. So parents now have to pay up the extra fees of the past year, along with the revised fees.
This rather sudden decision of the school authorities has left parents stunned and unsettled. Many parents have approached the school principal and management team to understand why such a decision has been taken. The authorities held their ground, saying that the decision to hike fees was approved by the Directorate of Education (DoE) of the Delhi government.
Incidentally, the circular bearing the sign of the ASN school principal, Sonia Luthra, has been accessed by City Spidey.
This is what it reads: "We would like to inform that the fee hike proposal has been approved by the Department of Education of Delhi Government with effect from the academic session 2016-17. Accordingly, the school management has decided to raise the tuition fees with effect from academic year 2016-17.”
Terming the hike as an arbitrary decision, hundreds of parents protested outside the school premises for three days. However, their voices went unheard. Surprisingly, the school authority refused to share the approval letter of the DoE with them.
Yatin Shastri, whose children are enrolled in ASN school and who is a resident of Samachar Apartments in Mayur Vihar Phase I, said, “When we requested the school authorities to share the approval letter of the DoE, they blatantly refused. We want to be sure if the Delhi government has approved the school’s fee hike proposal in detail. Some of us have even tried to contact the education minister Manish Sisodia. However, there is no response from his side.”
Parents say they have solid ground to protest against the situation. “Three months back the Delhi government had rejected the fee hike proposals of all private schools running on government land. The government has also said that schools wanting to hike fees would have to undergo a CAG audit of their accounts. Interestingly, after this verdict, out of 85 schools that had proposed a fee hike, most withdrew their proposal. Therefore, we want to know how the government has approved the ASN Senior Secondary School’s fee hike, when this school is housed on government land,” said Prateek Bhatnagar, another parent.
The parents living in group housing societies in Mayur Vihar Phase I and Mayur Vihar Phase I Extension have decided to bring this issue before Manish Sisodia tomorrow.
