Delhi: AAP proposes amendments in fee regulation bill to "protect parents' rights"

New Delhi [India], August 6 (ANI): Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday launched a scathing attack on the Delhi government on Wednesday, terming the school fee regulation bill as anti-parent and pro-management. The opposition party in the assembly has proposed four key amendments to safeguard parents rights.

Senior AAP leader and Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Delhi Assembly, Atishi, shared that AAP has submitted proposals mandating school audits, elected parent representation, easier complaint thresholds, and the right to challenge committee decisions in court.

The Assembly LoP said BJP MLAs must now prove through their votes whether they stand with Delhi parents or with private school profiteers, according to an official statement.

Addressing a press conference alongside AAP Sanjeev Jha and MLA Kuldeep Kumar, Atishi stated, The BJP-led Delhi government has brought a bill to regulate private school fees -- a bill that has been in discussion since April. That month, there was chaos across Delhi. Private schools were arbitrarily hiking fees, throwing children out of classrooms, locking them up in libraries.

Highlighting the parents protesting against the hike in sweltering heat, the Delhi LoP stated, Parents were standing outside schools in 40-degree heat, protesting. At the time, the BJP government said they would bring a bill. The bill was cleared by the Cabinet in April. But April passed, then May, June, July -- and only in August has this bill been tabled in the Assembly. Why this four-month delay?

She further slammed the BJP-led government for not consulting with the stakeholders properly, alleging that for four months, the bill was kept hidden.

This bill saw no consultation -- not with any educationists, not with legal experts, and certainly not with parents. Parents kept asking to give their input, to at least be shown the draft -- but for four months, the bill was hidden. Why? Because this bill is not for the parents of children studying in private schools. It is only for the benefit of private school owners.

Referring to a revealing statement by a BJP MLA, she asserted, This truth was openly admitted in the Assembly by BJP MLA Raj Kumar Bhatia, who said that this bill will give schools the opportunity to raise fees.

Claiming to have uncovered BJP true intention, she further pointed out the specific sections in the bills.

An amendment pertains to Section 5, which exposes the BJP true motives. The moment the BJP formed government, schools began hiking fees one after another, in an unrestrained manner. Parents were immediately asked to pay these inflated fees. We kept demanding a freeze -- that no school be allowed to charge more than 2024-25 levels. But the BJP did not act.

She added, Section 5, Subsection 1, Proviso 2 of the draft bill states: For the academic year 2025-26, the fees being charged by schools with effect from 1st April 2025 shall be deemed to be the proposed fee under this Act. This means the arbitrary hikes already imposed by private schools are being legalised through this bill -- parents will now be forced to pay the same.

Meanwhile AAP Sanjeev Jha also called out the bill for being unconstitutional.

Article 13 of the Constitution and the Keshavananda Bharati judgment have held that judicial review is part of the basic structure. That means if we go to court, this bill wont survive. But the BJP is trying to eliminate even the possibility of court intervention. They are attacking the power of judicial review, turning this law into a worthless piece of paper, he said.

Meanwhile, Delhi Education Minister Ashish Sood has described the bill as a historic moment, stating that the people of Delhi are happy with the bill, which has been introduced for their benefit.

Speaking to ANI on the Education Bill, Delhi Minister Sood on Tuesday said, The people are happy. It has been brought for their benefit. They (parents) can now attend the meetings where the fees of a school are determined. It is a historic moment.

Earlier on 16th April, show-cause notices were served to 10 schools regarding the arbitrary fee hike and to those schools that had not submitted their audit reports. The present Delhi government has already collected audited reports from 600 schools. (ANI)

Disclaimer: This news article is a direct feed from ANI and has not been edited by the News Nation team. The news agency is solely responsible for its content.