Fee hike in private schools: 'return of education mafia' in Delhi, says AAP

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) launched a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Delhi and accused it of enabling private schools to impose steep and arbitrary fee hikes.

At a press conference, senior AAP leader and former education minister Manish Sisodia alleged that the BJP government had effectively handed over Delhi’s education system to, what he called, the “education mafia”.

“Ever since the BJP took control of Delhi’s administration, the people have been facing one crisis after another. Hospitals are running short of medicines, power outages are frequent, and now private schools are extorting parents by hiking fees without any checks,” said Sisodia.

Citing reports of fee increases ranging from 20 to 82 per cent in several private schools, the former education minister of Delhi, accused the government of failing to intervene.

“Children are being barred from attending classes if their parents can’t afford the revised fees. Meanwhile, the BJP government is watching in silence,” he added.

Former chief minister Atishi also weighed in on the issue through a post on X calling for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the fee hikes.

“Under Arvind Kejriwal’s leadership, our government had curbed arbitrary fee hikes by private schools. But within just a month of the BJP assuming power, the same schools have resumed their exploitative practices. Why this sudden change? Is the BJP government complicit?” she questioned.

She further pointed out that some schools, which hadn’t revised their fees for nearly a decade, had suddenly done so within weeks of the new administration taking over.

AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal also joined the chorus of criticism. Sharing a newspaper clipping on X highlighting a fee hike at a Dwarka-based private school, Kejriwal wrote: “For 10 years, we didn’t allow arbitrary fee hikes in Delhi’s private schools. We dismantled the education mafia. But within a month of BJP taking over, the same mafia is back in action.”

The AAP’s renewed offensive comes in the aftermath of the defeat in the recent Assembly elections, as the party tries to hold the new BJP government accountable.

By raising the issue of fee hikes, AAP is seeking to defend its legacy of the welfare politics, and highlight what it claims is a reversal of pro-people reforms under the previous government.