DPS Rohini Loses Recognition Over Fee-Hike Norms

The DoE, Delhi, suspends DPS Rohini’s recognition. The school had been sidelining DoE guidelines and court orders around fee-hike norms. Suspension not to affect current 2022-23 session students.

DPS Rohini Loses Recognition Over Fee-Hike Norms

Source : DPS Rohini

The Delhi Government’s Directorate of Education has suspended the recognition of Delhi Public School, Sector-24, Rohini. The suspension order comes following the school’s non-compliance with fee hike rules. 

The DoE, Delhi, released an order on Tuesday, citing irregularities in the school’s compliance with directions from the department as well as the High Court pertaining to fee-hike. 

The DPS, Rohini Sector-24  authorities not only charged hiked fees for the academic year 2021-2022 but also hiked the fee arrears for the 2020-21 session, violating court orders. 

"The school authorities seem to be indulging in profiteering, commercialisation, capitation and exploitation of parents by charging unwarranted fees, and violated Rule 50 (xvii) and 50 (xix) of the Delhi School Education Rules, 1973 by not providing relevant documents and records to the inspection team who visited the school premises on November 7, 2022," said the DoE’s official statement. 

Since the school sits on DDA (Delhi Development Authority) land, it has to follow the land allotment norms that require schools built on DDA land to seek prior approval from the Director (Education) before any fee hike.

“Now, in view of the above, no option is left to the Directorate of Education but to intervene in the affairs of schools that are engaged in repeated non-compliance with the directions of the Directorate and thus liable for suspension of recognition. Hence, I, Himanshu Gupta, Director (education), hereby order to suspend the recognition of Delhi Public School, Sec-24, Rohini, unless the school removes the deficiencies or defects,” the statement added. 

Following the suspension of recognition, the school has been asked not to intake any student for the 2023-24 academic session. However, students of the current 2022-23 session shall remain unaffected by the suspension of the school’s recognition. The official statement from DoE also highlighted some instructions and guidelines for the school to complete the ongoing 2022-23 academic session. 

“After the completion of the session, all students of the school shall be shifted to the nearby recognized schools run by the DPS society or to nearby government schools with the consent of the parents if the suspension is not revoked. Over-charged fees already paid, if any, shall be refunded to all the students immediately,” the DoE statement read. 

The DoE also called upon the school authorities to adjust all the teaching and non-teaching staff of the school to its other recognised schools under the jurisdiction of Delhi NCT. The DoE further ordered that “DPS Society shall henceforth be the custodian of all records of the Delhi Public School, Sec-24, Rohini for all purposes and will be bound to produce the same before DoE or any other authority as and when asked for.”

The DoE had earlier directed the school to refrain from any fee hike for the academic session 2018-19, and 2019-20, and roll back the hiked fee and refund or adjust the amount charged over and above the fee structure of the school submitted in 2015-16. However, the DoE didn’t find the school’s response in this regard satisfactory enough.