DON’T HIKE FEES FOR NOW: GOVT TO 300 SCHOOLS

There will be no fee hike at over 300 private schools located on Delhi government land when the new academic session begins in April, a circular issued by the education department on March 27 has stated.

The remaining 1,400 private schools cannot cite implementation of the 7th pay commission to hike their fees beyond 10%, it added.

Last year, it was made mandatory for schools located on government land – such as the Birla Vidya Niketan, Sanskriti School and Delhi Public School-Vasant Kunj – to acquire prior approval of the Directorate of Education (DoE) for effecting the regular 10% fee hike. However, while 168 schools applied for the DoE’s approval in the 2016-17 session, only five received it.

The latest circular cleared some of the confusion over the fee hike.

“In January, the government sent a circular stating that we cannot hold meetings on increasing our fees. However, a circular issued yesterday clarified that we are only restricted from hiking our fees over 10%,” said Ameeta Mulla Wattal, principal of Springdales School-Pusa Road, which is not located on government land.