‘Child made to sit in library, not allowed in class’: Parents allege harassment at DPS branches

The dispute has been raging since last year. Parents had earlier claimed the action followed their refusal to pay the revised fee, which they say was increased “without following Directorate of Education (DoE) norms”.

Following the latest complaints, a notice has gone out to one school and the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights has taken note.

On March 18, Dr Rakesh Rahi, Deputy Director of Education (DDE) Northwest B-II, issued an advisory to the DPS Rohini branch asking it not to strike off the names of students.

The same day, the DDE passed an order directing the school “not to withhold result of any student… not to deny marksheet and not to discriminate against any student on account of non-payment of arrears of hiked fee”.

Stating that the matter is sub-judice before the Delhi High Court, it also said if the matter is decided in favour of the school, parents will be bound to follow the court’s directions. The HC is hearing a plea moved by the Rohini branch, which challenged the DoE’s order of suspension of its recognition in December 2022.

On March 13, the NCPCR issued a notice to the Deputy Director of Education (DDE), (South West-A), stating that several parents of DPS Vasant Kunj alleged their “children are forced to sit in the library the entire day and not allowed to attend classes”. The notice asked the DDE to ensure “the academic year of the child is not disrupted under any circumstances”.

When contacted, DPS Vasant Kunj Principal Deepti Vohra and DPS Rohini Principal Kanika Sachdeva Govi declined to comment. The school principal of the Dwarka branch was not available to respond to queries.

According to parents, among the concerns raised with regard to the alleged arbitrary fee hikes include the formation of PTAs (Parent-Teacher Associations) in an unregulated manner, isolating students, displaying the names of parents and children in the public domain despite paying approved fees, as well as a threat to strike off their wards’ names.

On Thursday, about 50 parents whose children study in DPS Dwarka submitted a complaint to the DoE. According to the complaint, the school served showcause notices through email on March 13 threatening to strike off the names of their wards from the rolls if the unapproved hiked fees were not paid.

Mahesh Mishra, parent of a Class 8 student at DPS Dwarka, said, “DPS School showcases its achievements in the public domain… Despite its reputation… the activities and practices of schools operated by DPS Society have been a matter of controversy and discussion for years.”

A parent of a Class XI student of DPS Rohini alleged, “Recently, separate PTMs were held for parents of class IX and XI students who paid the fees… progress reports were not given to those whose parents didn’t pay the hiked amount…”

A parent of a Class X student at the Vasant Kunj branch claimed, “My child informed me that after assembly on the first day… they were asked to stay back in the field…. they were then made to sit in the library… This has made my child very scared to go to school till the issue is sorted…”

A parent whose child goes to DPS Vasant Kunj said, “… Most parents have now submitted undertakings that they will pay the arrears, out of fear.”

In May 2024, DPS Dwarka removed 13 students from its rolls over non-payment of hiked fees. In July, the HC in an interim order reinstated the names of certain students.

In the same month, the DoE had issued a show-cause notice to DPS Dwarka following complaints by parents. Principal Priya Narayanan, in her response to the notice on July 26 to Deputy Director of Education (Southwest B-1) Savita Drall, had written, “… it is submitted that the show-cause notice… is completely arbitrary, illegal and devoid of any merits…”