Permission granted to 59 pvt schools operating on DDA land to increase fees by 5-10%

NEW DELHI: At least 59 private schools operating on the DDA land in the national capital have been granted permission to increase their fees by 5-10 per cent by the Delhi government, officials said Tuesday. As per norms, private schools built on the Delhi Development Authority land need to take permission from the Directorate of Education (DoE) before proceeding with any fee hike.

There are 301 such schools in the city of which 267 had approached for permission for fee hike. "After a detailed audit of the schools, 59 of them which were in deep shortage of funds have been allowed to hike the fees by 5-10 per cent. The fee hike will be limited to tuition fees only," a senior DoE official said.

The DoE had in 2017 allowed the schools to go ahead with an "interim fee hike" up to 15 per cent in line with the seventh pay commission's recommendations provided they get their financial accounts audited by the government in a fixed period of time. The order was withdrawn by the AAP government last year, saying that the schools would have to obtain prior permission from it before increasing their fees and any hike would be permitted only after an audit of the schools' accounts.

The schools had moved the High Court and secured a stay on the order by a single bench. However, the Delhi government had approached a double bench which had ruled in its favour on the issue.