Several private unaided schools in the national capital are allegedly violating the Societies Registration Act, 1860, by renting out their infrastructure—including swimming pools, badminton courts, and basketball courts—to private academies and the general public. The Act, under which all charitable societies must register, mandates that such organisations must operate on a non-profit basis.
The facilities being commercialised were built using funds collected from parents under various subheads such as development fees and capital fees. This, critics argue, is a clear misuse of public trust and a breach of the law meant to ensure educational institutions remain charitable in nature.
A Patriot investigation has revealed that multiple private schools, including some situated on land allotted by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), are profiting from these arrangements despite explicit prohibitions.
Renting school infrastructure to private academies
Many private schools have partnered with professional sports academies, allowing them to conduct paid training sessions on school grounds. Ishita Swimming Academy, for instance, has listed swimming pools located on private school premises across Delhi on its official website. It charges trainees Rs 3,500 per month or Rs 100 to Rs 200 per day, depending on the location, with training hours running from 5 AM to 7 AM and 4 PM to 10 PM.
The academy’s website lists schools such as De Indian Public School (Rohini), BS International School (Nangloi), Plato Public School (Patparganj), Basava International School (Dwarka), Queen Global International School (Dilshad Garden), Aryan International School (Nawada), Lovely Public Senior Secondary School (Laxmi Nagar), and Green Valley International Public School (Najafgarh), among others.
In addition, both branches of Indraprastha International School—located in Dwarka and Paschim Vihar—have displayed large banners inviting the general public to access their facilities.
Schools on DDA land also implicated
Two of the schools named—Dayanand Model Senior Secondary School (Vivek Vihar) and Abhinav Public School (Rohini)—are situated on DDA-allotted land. As per the Disposal of Developed Nazul Land Rules, 1981, Nazul land may be allocated to educational institutions at concessional rates. However, Rule 20 mandates that such institutions must be non-profit and recommended by a government department or ministry. These conditions are designed to ensure the land serves public interest, particularly the education of underprivileged children.
Yet, these schools appear to be renting out their assets—initially built for students’ benefit—for commercial gain, which is expressly forbidden under the Societies Registration Act, 1860.
Parents raise concerns
Sanjeev Bansal, a parent, criticised schools for defying clear legal mandates. “My children study at Maharaja Agrasen Public School in Ashok Vihar. While the school charges us a hefty amount under the guise of development fees, do our children actually receive the benefits we’re paying for?” he said.
Bansal accused schools of functioning as profit-driven entities rather than educational institutions, prioritising income over student welfare.
Booking turf and badminton courts online
The trend is not limited to swimming pools. Badminton and turf courts in several private schools are also being leased to the public through platforms such as Smash2Play, which allows users to book hourly slots. For instance, DAV Public School (Vasant Kunj) and BJS Public School (Karol Bagh) feature on the platform. Charges go up to Rs 1,600 per hour for turf access and Rs 550 to Rs 600 per hour for badminton courts.
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Laxmi Public School (Karkardooma) and New Green Field School (Saket)—both built on DDA land—are also listed on the site.
A senior official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, confirmed that such partnerships between schools and academies have existed for over three years. “After school hours, these institutions allow commercial activities on school property,” the official said.
Basketball courts also commercialised
Basketball facilities are another major area of concern. Several schools—including ITL Public School, MRV School, GD Goenka Public School, Shiv Modern School, Sumermal Jain Public School, Titiksha Public School, Delhi International School, and Mira Model School—have allowed various basketball academies to operate within their premises.
These include IB Sports (Basketball) Academy, Pick Skills Basketball Academy (Dwarka), RV New Basketball Academy, Power Dribble Basketball Academy, SkyHoops Basketball Academy, Shri Sai Basketball Academy, Shooters Basketball Academy, East Delhi Basketball Academy, Manomay Sports Academy, and NBA Basketball School.
Most of these academies charge between Rs 2,500 and Rs 4,000 per month for training.
Allegations of inaction and profiteering
Aparajita Gautam, president of the Delhi Parents Association, condemned the practice. “These schools are conducting illegal activities out in the open, and no one is stopping them,” she said. “This is the sole responsibility of the Delhi Directorate of Education (DoE), in which they have failed utterly.”
Gautam further alleged that schools are misusing infrastructure funded by parents’ hard-earned money. “Parents are not getting any rebate in fees. Instead, schools are introducing new subheads in the fee structure, putting a financial burden on them,” she said.
She also accused the education department of wilful negligence. “The DoE should keep track of activities carried out by private schools in Delhi to prevent them from turning into money-making entities. This is completely illegal. This won’t happen if the education department is not complicit,” she alleged.
Gautam urged the Delhi government to investigate the matter without delay.
Silence from schools and government
Patriot reached out to all schools named in this report via calls and emails. None responded to the allegations. The Delhi education department also declined to comment.
