The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi on Saturday ordered a private school in the city to reimburse the Rs 2.09 crore it collected from the students as extra fees within 30 days.
Addressing a press conference here, Delhi Education Minister Manish Sisodia said that the Apeejay School in Sheikh Sarai was sent the notice following complaints by the parents.
"Apeejay School in Sheikh Sarai had increased different charges, such as annual fee and development fee, by 10-25 per cent without informing the government. After auditing the school's accounts for the last seven years, we passed an order on Friday," Sisodia said.
He further said that despite the school having a surplus of Rs 30.85 crore, the teachers were not paid as per the Seventh Pay Commission and that fees were increased every year.
"In the 2018-19 session, the school had collected Rs 2.09 crore more than the actual fees. We have ordered the school to return the extra fees within 30 days or face action. Else it has to tell the parents that it'll adjust the extra fees in the coming months," he said.
"The school spent Rs 4.5 crore collected from fees on a new building. According to the law, the school should have done this with its own money, not from the fees collected from the students.
"In this building, it opened a new school called International School. But many of the teachers of the International School were paid from the other school's account while the fees taken by it were going into another account," Sisodia said.
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He also said that the school showed inflated bills of Rs 5.5 crore for housekeeping, but failed to provide any details of the same.
--IANS
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