Atishi Slams BJP's School Fees Bill: AAP Proposes Key Amendments to Protect Parents' Rights

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has raised objections to the School Fee Regulation Bill introduced by the BJP government, calling it anti-parent. Delhi’s Leader of Opposition Atishi said that AAP MLAs have proposed key amendments to protect parents' rights. She challenged BJP to show whether they stand with private school owners or with students’ families through their votes on these amendments.

Atishi stated that the AAP has demanded the bill include an audit of all school accounts, and parents should be given 15 days to give feedback on the audit before the fee is decided by a committee. She also proposed that instead of five, ten parents should be elected to the school fee regulation committee, and complaints should be accepted from any 15 parents, not just 15% of them. Moreover, parents should have the right to go to court against the committee’s decisions.

Concerns Over Timing and Lack of Transparency

Speaking at a press conference with AAP MLAs Sanjeev Jha and Kuldeep Kumar, Atishi said that the BJP government brought this bill only after delaying it for four months a move she claimed was intended to protect private schools. Back in April, when schools were raising fees uncontrollably and even harassing students, the government had promised a bill, but it was not introduced until August. She accused the BJP of not seeking any input from parents, education experts, or lawyers before bringing the bill, and of hiding the bill’s content from the public.

According to Atishi, BJP MLA Rajkumar Bhatia admitted in the Delhi Assembly that the bill gives private schools the freedom to increase fees. AAP had already shared the draft of the bill with many parents before it was tabled and had gathered suggestions. AAP’s proposed amendments are based on this feedback.

Sanjeev Jha added that the current version of the bill seems designed to protect education mafias and gives unchecked powers to the Director of Education, who can override decisions of all other school committees. He warned that if this bill passes without changes, it will encourage arbitrary fee hikes and limit parents’ legal rights.

Amendments to Protect Parents’ Rights

Atishi highlighted a major flaw in the bill the fee regulation committee is headed by a school management representative and includes only five randomly chosen parents. AAP has proposed that the committee should include ten elected parents and five school representatives, totaling fifteen members.

She also criticized Section 5 of the bill, which she said legalizes the already increased school fees collected since April 2025. AAP proposed that schools should not be allowed to charge more than the 2024-25 fee until their accounts are audited. The audit reports should be shared with all parents, and they should be given 15 days to respond before the fee is finalized.

Kuldeep Kumar said that removing the audit requirement from the bill is an attempt to turn private profit into legalized exploitation. AAP has demanded that audits be mandatory and parents be involved in reviewing them.

AAP’s Key Amendment Proposals in the Bill:

• Send the bill to a select committee to seek input from parents.
• Make the fee regulation committee 15 members strong, with 10 elected parents.
• Make school account audits compulsory before committee meetings.
• Share audit reports with parents and give them 15 days to give feedback.
• Accept complaints from any 15 parents instead of 15% of total parents.
• Give parents the legal right to challenge the committee’s decisions in court.
• Atishi urged all parents to watch the live broadcast of the Delhi Assembly vote on these amendments. She said this will show whether BJP MLAs stand with parents or private school owners.