Private schools can’t hike admission fees

Delhi education minister Arvinder Singh said private unaided schools will not be allowed to increase tuition fee in the next academic session.

Delhi education minister Arvinder Singh said private unaided schools will not be allowed to increase tuition fee in the next academic session.

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Singh said the schools have been told to fill up 25% seats with the students from the economically weaker section (EWS), without transferring the burden on the children from the general category.

Under the new right to education act, all schools are required to reserve 25% seats for EWS children and provide them free education. Until now, only about 300 schools in Delhi — that got land from the government on subsidised rates — offered 15% seats to the children of poorer section.

“Schools will be reimbursed the money they would spend on student of the EWS category. The government will pay the schools equivalent to the amount the government spends one each child in government schools or the actual school fee, whichever is less,” Singh said. “Only a few schools, where the fee is higher than what the government spends, will have to shell out some money from its funds. But that amount will not be as much that these schools cannot afford. We have told schools that our officials will keep a check in case any school decided to increase the fee.”