New Delhi: Parents of students at several private schools in the national capital have complained about struggling with paying fees since a 31 May Delhi High Court order allowed institutes to charge arrears for certain payment heads that had been waived during last year’s lockdown.
Until the high court order, schools were only allowed to charge tuition fees, what with lessons shifting online on account of the Covid lockdown, and many people suffering job and pay cuts.
The order allowed schools to charge annual fees and development fees, which they use for the upkeep of facilities, for the period since the lockdown ended last year. However, schools, which remain closed as classes continue online, have been instructed to effect a mandatory rebate of 15 per cent on the total amount.
Speaking to ThePrint, parents at some private schools said the fees they pay each month has risen up to three times in light of the high court order. The additional charges, they say, are too much for them to afford amid the pandemic. Apart from this, at least one school has been accused of charging “housekeeping expenses” despite classes being held online.
Many parents have resorted to protests, and the high court order has been challenged by a private body, ‘Justice for All’, which represents parents from several schools.
On 12 July, the Delhi High Court asked the Delhi government, which has also filed an appeal in the matter, and parents to submit a written plea putting their case forth.
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Parents’ complaints
When the Covid lockdown was first imposed in 2020, the Delhi Department of Education issued an order to schools, asking them not to levy additional fees (development and annual) during the lockdown period.
In July, with Unlock under way, many schools began charging fees under these categories again. When parents subsequently moved court, the Delhi High Court, in August, ordered status quo and directed schools not to charge the development and annual fees since schools had not opened.
After this, several schools moved the high court, demanding some form of remuneration for maintenance. It is while hearing this petition that the 31 May order was issued.
Meenakshi Kuhar, whose children study in the Apeejay School branches at Saket and Sheikh Sarai, said the monthly fees for her son, a student of Class 10, was about Rs 5,000 during the lockdown last year. Since the high court order, it has increased to a little over Rs 15,000.
The hefty amount, she told ThePrint, is getting difficult for parents to pay in one go.
“I have had conversations with parents who are barely able to make ends meet. With such a massive jump in the fees amount, how will parents educate their children?” said Kuhar, who is also the president of the school’s parent association. “Schools need to be more considerate.”
Reached for comment, Ritu Mehra, the principal of Apeejay School, Sheikh Sarai, defended the school’s fees structure.
“We are abiding by the directive of the high court. By virtue of its order, private schools in Delhi can levy 85 per cent of the development and annual fees. We have also tried to explain the calculation to the parents but there still seems to be reluctance on their side.”
Mehra said the school did charge “supplementary fees” the past year, adding that parents who had not paid this in 2020 are now finding it added to the fees for this year.
Explaining the challenges of running a school, she added, “Students may not be coming to school right now but we have to pay both teaching and non-teaching staff. In addition to this, we are still paying the government all the taxes, there have been no rebates for us.”
At DPS Dwarka, a parent claimed, the annual fees has been charged since August 2020 itself. “The high court has permitted the school to charge additional fees in June 2021, but they have been asking for additional charges since last year,” said Saurabh Agrawal, whose two daughters are enrolled in the school.
“Not only this, the tuition fee that I deposit is being adjusted in the additional charges. Because of this, the tuition fees in my wards’ account still reflects as overdue,” he added.
ThePrint reached DPS Dwarka principal Sunita Talwar by calls and messages, but there was no response by the time of publishing this report. The school is yet to respond to questions emailed on the official email ID.
At DPS East of Kailash, a junior school with pre-primary and primary classes, parents said they are also being charged for housekeeping expenses for 2020. “My daughter is in senior KG and we have had to make all the investment on gadgets like tablets, WiFi and other aid. If parents are making all the efforts and investments, why are schools adding unnecessary expenses?” said Ankur Verma.
ThePrint reached DPS East of Kailash by phone in a bid to speak to principal Padma Srinivas, but was asked to email her. An email sent to her official ID was yet to elicit a response at the time of publishing this report.
In court
On 13 July, parents gathered outside DPS Dwarka to protest against the fees being charged. They said parents of students at several DPS branches have, via crowdfunding, hired a lawyer to represent them in court.
“I gave Rs 1,000 to the funding initiative and found a lawyer to represent us. We are taking the matter to court,” said Rohit Kumar, a parent.
Parents of students at another institute — Adarsh Public School at Vikaspuri — have also resorted to legal action. They say paying the additional fees in one go is getting extremely difficult and they want a reduction. ThePrint reached Adarsh Public School by phone but was told to write an email to the official ID. An email sent subsequently had not elicited a reply by the time of publishing this report.
Shikha Sharma Bagga, a member of Justice for All and an advocate in the Delhi High Court who is representing the parents, accused schools of “deliberately misinterpreting the orders issued by Delhi High Court”.
“Parents wish to pay for the amount spent by the school. During the pandemic, there are several services that students have not been using and they should not be charged for it,” she said.
“In fact, it was revealed (during the hearing) that the salary of teachers only amounts to 40 per cent of the tuition fees and the nominal expenses are covered under other heads. Justice for All, an organisation supporting parents, and the Delhi government both moved the Supreme court but the apex court remanded the matter to the Delhi High Court.”
(Edited by Sunanda Ranjan)
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