Roll back Ordinance on fee hike by private schools in Delhi, hold public consultations, say protesting parents

The Cabinet nod to Delhi School Education (Transparency in Fixation and Regulation of Fees) Ordinance, 2025, without public consultation, was one of the key contentions raised as hundreds of parents gathered at Chhatrasal Stadium in North Delhi on Saturday morning to protest arbitrary fee hikes by private schools in the Capital. Alleging harassment of students by such schools, the parents claimed that they have been subjected to years of unapproved fee hikes.
The demonstration, led by the group United Parents' Voice (UPV), was initially planned outside Chief Minister Rekha Gupta's Office at the Delhi Secretariat. However, it was relocated after the Delhi Police denied permission, citing security and traffic concerns.
The protest follows the Delhi Cabinet's June 10 decision to approve an Ordinance based on the Delhi School Education (Transparency in Fixation and Regulation of Fees) Bill, 2025. The Bill had earlier received the Cabinet's approval on April 29, soon after parents staged widespread protests against fee hikes. The Bill, however, could not be presented in the Assembly because the Budget session was cut short.
While the government officials have stated that the Bill and the Ordinance aim to curb arbitrary fee increases and improve transparency, parents alleged that the legislation was drafted without public consultation and fails to address ongoing issues affecting students and families.
After being denied permission on Friday to hold the demonstration at outside the Secretariat by the Delhi Police, which imposed Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023 across the I.P. Estate area, the group moved the protest to Chhatrasal Stadium at 8 am Saturday, where the CM was attending the International Yoga Day celebrations.
'The government is scared of the parents' voice. The system has acknowledged our strength. Now let's show up in even bigger numbers,' said Mahesh Mishra, one of the protesters whose child studies at Delhi Public School, Dwarka.
The group's key demands included an immediate pause in the implementation of the Ordinance, a 30-day public consultation period, an end to the alleged harassment of children by private schools, strict action against rule-violating institutions, rollback of unjustified hikes since 2019, and the establishment of a robust, transparent grievance redressal system for parents.
'We urge an immediate halt to the proposed Ordinance and the Bill. These should first be subjected to transparent public consultation as per constitutional and fundamental rights, as parents and citizens are the primary stakeholders in any education-related policy decision,' Mishra added.
While carrying placards and raising slogans, the demonstrators demanded action against private schools for alleged coercive practices.
UPV claimed that children had been removed from rolls by private schools, denied access to classes, and in some cases, physically blocked at school gates by bouncers over fee-related issues. The group described such incidents as mental harassment and demanded accountability from schools engaging in such practices.
Another long-standing concern that echoed at the protest was the issue of unapproved fee hikes going back to 2019.
The parents' group said that despite repeated appeals, the government has failed to roll back what they described as arbitrary and unjustified increases. They also highlighted the absence of a functional and time-bound grievance redressal mechanism.
DPS Dwarka, Maharaja Agrasen Model School, Pitampura, and Apeejay School, Sheikh Sarai, are some of the schools that have been embroiled in disputes amid the fee hike row.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Time of India

3 hours ago

• Time of India

Want similar volume of water across Yamuna in city: Rekha

New Delhi: Reiterating her govt's commitment to rejuvenating the Yamuna, chief minister Rekha Gupta said on Saturday that she wanted a consistent flow of water throughout the river's stretch in the capital. Speaking to reporters during an International Day of Yoga event at Sonia Vihar Water Sports Club — where the river maintains a continuous flow till Wazirabad — Gupta said her aim was to ensure the entire stretch of the Yamuna in Delhi had a similar volume of water. Delhi govt held yoga events at 11 locations in the city, attended by ministers, BJP MPs, MLAs, councillors, bureaucrats and other prominent people. Gupta was joined by BJP MP Manoj Tiwari and minister Kapil Mishra in Sonia Vihar. On the choice of the venue, Gupta said they wanted to show people that the cleaning work of the river was underway. " Yamuna river is the symbol of our faith, but the previous govts ignored it. They did not work to clean it. But in the four months that we have been in power, we have worked to clean it," she claimed. "People ask me, where will the cruise run? I want to tell them, the cruise will run on this river where students performed yoga today on boats," CM said. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Free P2,000 GCash eGift UnionBank Credit Card Apply Now Undo She also criticised the previous AAP govt and said it associated yoga with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and did not celebrate the occasion. "If they associate yoga with PM, what can we do? Tomorrow, the AAP leader might give up his food if he sees PM associated with it. After seeing the BJP govt in Delhi, he has left the national capital," she jibed. Delhi assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta participated in a yoga session at Lodhi Gardens. He reiterated the importance of collective action and awareness to build a healthier, more resilient nation rooted in the timeless wisdom of yoga. Education minister Ashish Sood said that for the first time, the city govt officially celebrated Yoga Day in the capital. "The 11th International Yoga Day was marked simultaneously at 11 locations, with more than 20,000 yoga practitioners taking part in the events. Yoga Day was also observed on a large scale in colleges, and nearly 10,000 yoga enthusiasts gathered at Chhatrasal Stadium today," he said. Sood led the event at the stadium. Water and PWD minister Parvesh Verma performed yoga at Thyagaraj Stadium. Health minister Pankaj Kumar Singh participated at the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Park event. Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva, the party's national general secretary (Organisation) BL Santosh and other senior functionaries also performed yoga at the same park. Social welfare minister Ravinder Indraj Singh participated in a session at Bawana Stadium, while environment minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa led the celebrations at the hockey ground in Ashok Nagar.

The Hindu

7 hours ago

• The Hindu

Delhi CM performs yoga on riverbank, says govt.'s efforts to clean Yamuna visible

Chief Minister Rekha Gupta performed yoga on the banks of the Yamuna river on Saturday, the annual International Yoga Day, accompanied by Cabinet colleague Kapil Mishra, North East Delhi MP Manoj Tiwari, Deputy Speaker Mohan Singh Bisht, Chief Secretary Dharmendra, senior officials, and several schoolchildren. Speaking to mediapersons after the event in Sonia Vihar, the CM said she had chosen the spot to show the public that the river was cleaner now as her government has been continuously working to make it pollution-free. 'Message for public' 'Decentralising sewage treatment plants (STPs), laying new sewer lines and water pipelines… whatever is needed to clean the river, we are consistently doing it. By performing yoga here, we want to give a message to the people of Delhi that Yamuna is getting cleaner,' she said. Cleaning the Yamuna was one of the poll promises the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) made in the run-up to the Delhi Assembly election. Ms. Gupta said a total of 303 drainage projects, with an estimated cost of ₹8,000 crore, are under way. 'These include redevelopment of major drains, installation of modern water pumps, desilting drains, expansion of stormwater drainage system and scientific drainage network management,' she said. Ms. Gupta said that the Yamuna had been Delhi's identity, as the city was established along the banks of the river. 'We are working sincerely to clean the river. This [Sonia Vihar] stretch of the river is clean. We will clean the remaining stretches also,' she said. She said that thousands of tonnes of water hyacinth had been removed from the river using advanced technology. 'A cruise service is also being planned on Yamuna,' she added. Hitting out at the previous Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Congress governments, the CM said, 'Over the years, the city has seen many governments, but they did nothing for Maa Yamuna.' Ms. Gupta said yoga should not be treated as a one-day event, and people should incorporate it into their daily routine. She added that it was due to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership that yoga today is being celebrated globally. 'Be it the promotion of millet, reducing oil consumption or advocating yoga, PM Modi has consistently encouraged citizens towards a healthy life,' she added. 'Deeply inspiring' 'Witnessing youngsters perform yoga on boats was a deeply inspiring sight,' she said, adding that it was for the first time that such a grand celebration was organised by the Delhi government with more than 20,000 people in attendance across the city, 'creating a new milestone'.

Business Standard

8 hours ago

• Business Standard

Rs 8,000 crore plan in works to clean Yamuna, fix drainage: Delhi CM

The Delhi government is currently working on more than 300 projects, allocated an outlay of Rs 8,000 crore, to clean Yamuna River and solve the city's sewage woes, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said on Friday. Gupta held a meeting with Water Minister Parvesh Verma and top Delhi Jal Board (DJB) officials to review the work underway to fix the drainage and sewer system in the city. "The Delhi government is implementing a multi-pronged and phased plan for Yamuna rejuvenation, which includes drain treatment, sewerage network expansion and setting up of modern Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs)," the chief minister said in a statement. In the meeting, according to the statement, she reviewed a 45-point action plan, which included capacity enhancement and upgradation work at existing STPs located in Yamuna Vihar, Okhla, Keshopur, Vasant Kunj, Ghitorni, Mehrauli, and Molarbandh under the AMRUT 2.0 scheme and one each in Nilothi and Pappan Kalan. Gupta directed officials to replace old pipelines in phases. "Many parts of Delhi are still operating on decades-old water and sewer pipelines, which are no longer sustainable due to rapid urban growth and increasing demand. Officials have been instructed to undertake phase-wise planning and use modern technology to replace old infrastructure," she said. According to officials, the 303 drainage projects involve redevelopment of major drains, permanent solutions for waterlogging, installation of modern pumps, de-silting of drains, expansion of stormwater systems, and scientific drainage network management. Gupta said she will personally visit the Yamuna every month to check the progress in its cleaning. She also claimed that Delhi will soon become a 'model' city in terms of equitable water distribution under the Centre's Har Ghar Nal Se Jal initiative. Verma stated that strict directions have been issued for immediate action against the illegal discharge of untreated sewage and industrial waste in the city. "This is a crisis that can no longer be ignored. Delhi cannot afford to let untreated sewage flow into its lifelines. No polluter will be spared. We will act and act fast," he said.