Delhi govt to take over management of Bal Bharati Public School in Rohini

Sisodia, who is also the education minister, also warned other schools: “If any school does this then strict action will be taken against them.”

The Delhi government will take over the management of Bal Bharati Public School in Rohini for allegedly hiking fee without a clearance from the education department, the government said in a statement issued Thursday.

Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia. (ANI Photo)

“Delhi government had issued orders several times to withdraw the arbitrarily increased fees by the school but the school management has failed every time to comply with these orders. Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had approved the proposal of the Directorate of Education (DoE) to take over the management of Bal Bharti School. This file was sent to the LG, which has now been approved,” said a statement released from the deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia’s office.

Sisodia, who is also the education minister, also warned other schools: “If any school does this then strict action will be taken against them.”

The school, in a statement, said it has “always functioned under the provisions of DSEAR (Delhi School Education Act and Rules, 1973) and followed all the judgments of the Delhi high court”. The institute said they are yet to receive any communication from the DoE, adding that it will wait for it to decide their next step.

This is the latest in a series of actions against private schools allegedly hiking fee: on Wednesday, the education department said it initiated steps to take over Apeejay School in Sheikh Sarai for repeatedly failing to roll back the fee hike introduced by them in the last two academic years ; and on July 27,the Delhi government said it will take over the management of Swami Sivananda Memorial School in Punjabi Bagh.

Following an “in-depth inspection of the financial statements” of Bal Bharti School for the financial years 2016-17 and 2017-18, DoE officials found that the school had total fund corpus of ₹23.82 crore for the year 2017-2018, out of which ₹20.94 crore was estimated to be spent. “The school management had a net surplus of about ₹2,87,44,156. After this, DoE came to the conclusion that there is no need for the school management to increase the fees. In this regard, the directorate refused to accept the fee hike proposed by the school for the academic session 2017-18,” the statement said, adding that the department had also asked the school to adjust the increased fee.

“…In the meantime, the Delhi government again received complaints from the parents that the school had increased the fees several times in 2018-19 and 2019-20, and further also asked [parents] to deposit arrears,” the statement said.

The statement further said that the education department issued a notice to the school on May 10, 2019, asking why the recognition of the school should not be cancelled or why the government should not take over the management of the school.

“The reply received by the school was not satisfactory. In view of this situation, the Delhi government has decided to initiate the process of taking over the management of the school,” the statement said.

Meanwhile, the school’s statement said it is hearing about the action only through the media. “We are yet to receive any communication from the DoE and will consider the entire issue once we receive a direct communication. Bal Bharati Public School has always functioned within the provisions of DSEAR and followed all the judgments given by Delhi high court on related issues in the past, and will continue to do so in future also. We want to assure parents of our students that we will always protect the interests of our students,” the statement said.

The action committee of private recognised schools condemned the Delhi government‘s “one-sided action through media release”. “By such irresponsible actions, the government is trying to malign the reputation and defame Bal Bharati Public School, Rohini, and also cause unnecessary anxiety to the parents of the school. Even if the government is contemplating any action against the school, they should write to the school and follow the provisions of DSEAR. We would like to reiterate that action committee will take legal recourse to protect the interests of and stand by its member schools,” said a statement issued by the body.

The Action Committee for Unaided Recognised schools too condemned the government decision and said they will take legal recourse to protect interests of its member schools.