Educational news about Personality development, career guidance, Leadership Skills and more in Edubilla.com ...

The Delhi government will establish a "complaint centre" to "deal with" private schools due to the hundreds of parents complaining against fee increase as the most recent provocation. The statement announcing it also adds that the government has not granted permission to any school to increase fee some have sought it and if any school has done it, "it is liable for government action (sic)."

The statement says the centre will enable parents and members of the public to "file complaints against the erring schools without any apprehension of their children being harassed by the private school managements." It will be located at the education office of the New Delhi and Central districts at room number 2, plot number 5 at Jhandewalan. Parents can also email at [email protected]. Till now, parents had been mailing the chief and deputy chief ministers directly.

"Some schools have sought the approval of Delhi government seeking a fee hike, but the government has not given its approval so far. Therefore, if any school has hiked the fee, it is liable for government action," says the statement. On Wednesday alone, it further says, about 150 parents had met Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia to complain about fee increase at Kalka Public School in Alaknanda. However, they aren't the only ones. Parents with kids in KR Mangalam World School in Vikaspuri have also put a petition together. "It is a wonderful step by the government," says Somesh Arora, lawyer and one of over 200 parents to complain against KR Mangalam, "But it should be really effective. It should have a team headed by someone with experience in the field and advisors."

Lawyer-activist Khagesh Jha whose petition led to the high court order saying private schools on government land need prior sanction from government to increase fees, too thinks it a "very good idea." "The government should take care that grievances are process properly and in a time-bound manner. Especially in cases of fee increase, it is important to resolve the matter at the beginning of the academic session itself."

But the cell is not for fee-related grievances alone. It is meant to generally check what the statement describes as "arbitrary functioning of private schools." It will "also cater to the large-scale grievances of parents about wrongdoings in the EWS admissions by private schools."