Aam Aadmi Party leader Atishi
National News: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has strongly opposed the School Fee Bill introduced by the BJP government in the Delhi Assembly, claiming that it is designed solely to legalize arbitrary fee hikes by private schools. Leader of the Opposition Atishi said that the alliance between the BJP and private school owners has been exposed in the Assembly.
BJP MLA Rajkumar Bhatia admitted in the House that the bill is intended to allow private schools to increase fees. Atishi said that this statement proves where the BJP stands — with school owners or with the parents.
As per the bill, the fee regulatory committee will be chaired by the school management itself — the same body that wants to increase fees. The committee will have only five parent members, and they won’t be elected but chosen by random draw.
If parents want to oppose the committee’s decision, at least 15% of them must jointly raise a complaint. For instance, in a school with 3,000 students, at least 450 parents would need to come together to file an objection.
Atishi pointed out that the word "audit" is not mentioned even once in the entire bill, from the first to the last section. This means there will be no audit of school finances, leaving fee hikes unchecked and unaccounted for.
One of the most concerning provisions of the bill is that once the committee decides to increase fees, parents will not be allowed to challenge the decision in court. This bill is entirely in favor of private school owners.
Atishi said that AAP had asked parents for their suggestions on the bill, and those inputs have been included in the form of proposed amendments. She added that the vote on these amendments on Wednesday will make it clear whether the BJP supports private school management or the parents.
Atishi criticized the BJP for wasting time in the Assembly, saying that running it costs lakhs of rupees per hour — all paid by Delhi’s taxpayers. Yet, the BJP is ignoring real issues like slums, schools, hospital shortages, and Delhi's law and order situation.
She called the Education Bill “completely fraudulent,” stating that it has been designed only to give official approval to the increased school fees. AAP's legislative party has submitted several amendments in favor of parents and hopes they will be discussed and supported during the Assembly session.
Senior AAP leader and former Education Minister Manish Sisodia also slammed the BJP. Sharing BJP MLA Rajkumar Bhatia’s statement on social media, he said, “The reality of the BJP’s alliance with private school owners is now public. BJP has turned education into a black market — looting the middle class in the name of school fees and filling the pockets of politicians and the education mafia.”
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