Aam Aadmi Party MLA Saurabh Bharadwaj has accused Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta of making a 'fool' out of everyone with her recent warning to private schools. In a video posted on X, Gupta threatened to take action against schools that force students and parents into captive buying of books, uniforms, and stationery.
Bharadwaj claimed that schools have already sold their uniforms, books, and other items to students as the session got underway in Delhi on April 1. He said that Gupta's warning makes no sense when parents have already paid thousands to buy these items.
Every parent visits schools between March 15 and April 1, pays the increased fees charged by private schools, along with arbitrary annual charges and various other expenses. They are often forced to buy school uniforms, expensive books, and notebooks, sometimes spending as much as ₹15,000, said Bharadwaj.
Now, on April 30, Rekha Gupta has put out a reel saying she will inspect private schools and take action if any school is found selling expensive books and uniforms. But what action will be taken now? What had to be sold has already been sold; what had to be taken has already been taken, claimed Bharadwaj.
If action is to be taken, it should be on the increased fees, because this year and even last year, private schools have raised fees by up to 80 percent, said Bharadwaj. For the past year, she has been saying that action will be taken against the fee hikes, but so far, not a single private school has faced any action. Stop misleading people and start doing some real work,” Bharadwaj concluded.
