7th pay commission implementation for teachers unrelated; fee hike by private schools unjustified: Delhi govt

The Delhi government made it clear Thursday that "unjustified fee hike" by some private schools was not related to the implementation of the 7th Pay Commission recommendations for the teachers. Talking to reporters here, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said attempts are being made to create a "false impression" by vested interests that the AAP government is against the implementation of the Commission's recommendation, which is "completely baseless".

On Wednesday, the Delhi High Court stayed the interim hike in fees by private unaided schools in the city till April 8. The Delhi government had in 2017 allowed recognised unaided private schools on Delhi Development Authority (DDA) land to increase their fees by 15 per cent as an "interim" measure to comply with the 7th Pay Commission (CPC) recommendations.

A circular to this effect was issued by the Directorate of Education on October 17 that year. "Unjustified fee hike by some private schools has nothing to do with the implementation of the 7th Pay Commission's recommendations for the teachers working in private schools," Sisodia, who is also Delhi's Education minister, said.

He said during audit of accounts, most of top schools were found to be having surplus amount ranging from Rs 7 crore to 40 crore even after the implementation of Commission's recommendations. "There are 325 private schools situated in the government land allotted by the DDA. Out of these, 260 schools had applied for fees hike, but 32 schools withdrew their applications.

"During audit of accounts, it was found that nearly 150 schools had sufficient surplus to implement seventh Pay Commission and were therefore denied permission to hike the fees. Rest of the applications are under the process," he said.

Sisodia said the Delhi government recognises the important role of the private schools in education in the city. The government is against "extortion" from the parents by the private schools in the name of fees, he said. He also pointed out the irony in hiring "extremely expensive lawyers" using the fees collected from the students to fight against the legitimate interests of the students.