Private schools looting people with arbitrary fee hikes, says Atishi, asks for CAG probe

New Delhi: AAP leader Atishi on Monday accused private schools in the national capital of imposing arbitrary fee hikes following the formation of the BJP government in the city. Addressing a press conference, and former Delhi chief minister alleged that many schools significantly raised their tuition without proper oversight, emboldened by the BJP. "Private schools have started their loot now that there is a BJP government in Delhi. From the very first day, they began increasing fees by a substantial margin," she said. Atishi claimed that there had been strict regulations on school fees during her party's tenure. "For 10 years, when AAP was in government, there was a cap on fee hikes. If any discrepancy was found during audits, schools were asked to return the extra money. In fact, many former students were refunded their fees. Schools were required to seek permission from the Delhi government before raising their fees," she said.

She claimed that parents were approaching the AAP leaders in large numbers, seeking their intervention.."Every day, we are hearing of fee hikes in different schools. Parents are contacting us, writing e-mails, and requesting us to stop this. Why? Because they know the BJP government will not help them," she said. In a direct challenge to Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, Atishi demanded that the government order an audit of private schools by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG). "If there is no collusion between the BJP government and private schools, then stop these fee hikes. I request the government to conduct a CAG audit and allow schools to raise fees only after that," she said.