Days after the Delhi government issued show-cause notices to 449 private schools for charging "unjustified" fees from students, as many as 100 schools have started refunding the "excess" money with some of them even publishing notices in newspapers asking parents to collect their amount.
"In compliance of the DoE order, the school is refunding the excess tuition and development fee and building fund. Students who were enrolled in the school 2009-10 and 2010-11 can collect the refund from the school immediately," read the notice issued by Oxford Public School, Nehru Nagar.
Similarly, Ambience Public School, Safdarjung Enclave, sent letters to parents to collect their cheques from the school. "In compliance of the order of Justice Anil Dev Singh's committee... You are requested to collect the cheque from the school during working hours against the receipt of the refund," the letter read.
The 449 schools, including some of the top private schools, were identified by a committee appointed by the Delhi High Court for 'overcharging' parents on the pretext of implementing the sixth pay commission after some parents had approached the court in 2009.
The schools were issued show-cause notices by the Court on Monday to return the money within two weeks. Overwhelmed by the move, thousands of parents hailed the government for tightening its grip over private schools.
"We are happy to get our money back. These schools have been charging us unjustified amounts since 2009 and it's after the AAP government's intervention that they are returning it now," said Ritika Chopra, said a parent.
Calling it an encouraging move, government officials said, "It's good that some of these schools have started the refund process. We hope that all 449 schools do the same.
