Parents of the students of private schools in the national capital staged a protest in front of the Delhi Directorate of Education (DoE) office on Wednesday demanding rollback of arbitrary fee hike.

They accused the private schools of resorting to coercive tactics, including denial of admit card for board examinations and admission in the next academic year, to force them to pay up the hiked fee.

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Raising slogans against the government and displaying placards reading “Loot machana bandh karo (stop looting)” and “Schools ki manmani band karo, hamari fees kam karo (stop the capricious attitude, reduce the fees),” the protesting parents alleged that the hiked fee was imposed on them without prior notice or official approval.

They accused the schools of commercializing education ignoring the financial stress faced by their families.

One of the parents said, “We have been seeing the commercialization of education for years. Whenever we complain about it, our voices are suppressed.”

The commercialization of education starts from the time of the admission when applications are rejected on the pretext of unavailability of seats and admissions are offered for donation, he claimed.

Earlier, the parents staged a protest outside the schools in various parts of the city.

The issue has taken a political turn with Leader of the Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Atishi challenging Chief Minister Rekha Gupta to immediately stop the fee hike in all private schools. On Tuesday, Gupta said notices have been issued to schools over the complaints against the arbitrary fee hike and asserted that her government was committed to transparency and protection of children’s right to education.

Earlier, Delhi Education Minister Ashish Sood informed about the formation of SDM-led committees to collect audit reports from all 1677 private schools. The committees comprise tehsildars and accounts officials to ensure thorough and impartial investigations.

Additionally, the Education Department has launched an official email – ddeact1@gmail.com – under the supervision of the Deputy Director of Education, where parents can report grievances related to unjustified fee hikes.