Delhi: Wait for watchdog to monitor school fee hikes continues

Delhi: For more than 26 years, parents in the national capital have await ed the formation of the Fee Anomaly Committee—a regulatory body meant to provide a formal platform to challenge arbitrary school fee hikes. Despite repeated assurances and legal directives, the committee remains a distant promise.

The Delhi Directorate of Education (DoE) insists that it addresses parents’ complaints in a timely manner. However, parents argue that without a dedicated committee, they are left with no structured mechanism to hold private schools accountable.

Decades of inaction

The demand for the Fee Anomaly Committee dates back to 1999 when the DoE issued an order to establish the committee based on recommendations from the Duggal Committee. The Duggal Committee had been formed a year earlier following a Delhi High Court directive. However, the order was never implemented.

In 2017, the High Court once again directed the government to constitute the committee within two weeks. Following this ruling, the Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi government notified its formation, allowing parents to pay a fee of Rs 100 to register complaints regarding school fees and accounts. Schools facing complaints were required to submit financial records for auditing.

The government’s order mandated compliance from 1,700 private schools across the city. Schools were expected to provide records upon request and submit financial statements in a prescribed format. Yet, despite this directive, the committee never became operational. Parents were once again left without an avenue to challenge fee hikes.

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Parents left without recourse

After years of appeals and legal battles, parents say they are still helpless. Many claim the government’s assurances exist only on paper.

Without a structured grievance redressal system, they allege that private schools continue to raise fees arbitrarily under various pretexts—annual charges, development fees, or miscellaneous expenses. With no regulatory oversight, families are forced to pay hefty sums to secure quality education for their children.

Speaking to Patriot, Aprajita Gautam, President of the Delhi Parents Association (DPA), accused the DoE of failing to comply with court directives.

“In 2017, the High Court ordered the Delhi Education Department to constitute a Fee Anomaly Committee in each district. Yet, more than six years later, no such action has been taken. This is a clear case of contempt of court,” she said.

She emphasised that the committee would not only support parents but also empower the government to monitor private school finances. “This mechanism would enable authorities to scrutinise school accounts and prevent arbitrary fee hikes,” she added.

Pankaj Gupta, General Secretary of the Northwest Parents Association, pointed out that parents have no direct channel to report grievances.

“Parents don’t even have an email ID, helpline number, or office location where they can submit complaints about fee hikes or arbitrary charges,” he said.

He also noted that many par ents remain unaware of the committee’s existence. “It is the responsibility of the education department to create awareness, but instead, they seem to be aligned with private institutions,” he alleged.

Voices of frustrated parents

Rashmi Mehra, a parent from South Delhi, expressed her disappointment over the delay. She said that despite repeated assurances, the Fee Anomaly Committee has not been constituted, leaving par ents without a formal platform to challenge school fee hikes.

“Every year, schools impose arbitrary increases under different pretexts—development fees, annual charges, or other miscellaneous expenses—without any justification,” she said. “If the government is serious about regulating private schools, it must act now instead of making empty promises.”

Vikram Sethi, a parent from West Delhi, said he had been hopeful when the Delhi High Court directed the formation of the committee in 2017. However, years later, nothing has changed.

“Schools continue to increase fees indiscriminately, citing inflation or infrastructure upgrades, but there is no transparency,” he said. “Middle-class families like mine are forced to stretch our budgets beyond limits just to afford quality education for our children. Without a proper grievance redressal system, parents have no choice but to accept these unjustified hikes.”

Meenakshi Sharma, a parent from East Delhi, highlighted the financial burden imposed by private schools.

“Every year, schools come up with creative ways to extract more money—be it through mandatory book purchases, transportation charges, or inflated tuition fees,” she said. “Without a functioning Fee Anomaly Committee, there is no accountability. Schools refuse to share their financial records, and parents are left with no avenue for complaints.”

She believes the delay in forming these committees is not just negligence but a deliberate move that favours private institutions over parents and students.

Suresh Pandey, a North Delhi resident, raised concerns about unchecked fee hikes. He said his child’s school increased the annual fee by nearly 15% this year. When he questioned the hike, he was given vague explanations.

“Where is the Fee Anomaly Committee that was supposed to regulate such hikes?” he asked. “Parents are being forced to either accept these hikes or withdraw their children from good schools. Education should not become a luxury. The government must take immediate action and fulfil its promise of implementing proper regulations.”

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What the DoE says

Responding to the allegations, highly placed sources in the DoE stated that the department regularly receives complaints from parents across all districts in Delhi.

“We try to resolve parents’ grievances as soon as possible,” an official said.

“Apart from parents, private schools also approach the Department of Education with various issues, which we address on a priority basis. The department takes stern action against schools that do not follow guidelines,” the official added.

Meanwhile, sources hinted that the education department might soon make a significant announcement to address parents’ grievances.

What are Fee Anomaly Committees?

Fee Anomaly Committees are regulatory bodies established to address and resolve grievances related to school fees. Their primary function is to ensure that private schools do not impose arbitrary, unjustified, or excessive fees on students. These commit tees review complaints from par ents regarding fee hikes, additional charges, and non-compliance with government regulations.

The committee is expected to examine individual complaints within 90 days and submit a detailed report with specific findings to the DoE.

Structure of the committee

Each Fee Anomaly Committee will consist of three members:

• The Deputy Director of Education of the district as the chairperson
• The Deputy Education Officer of the zone as a member.
• A chartered accountant nominated by the Directorate of Education.

With 13 districts in the city, multiple committees will be formed to ensure proper oversight.