In flagrant disregard for the Directorate of Education’s (DoE) instructions, Delhi Public School (DPS) Dwarka again denied entry to 32 students to the school campus on Friday morning. The students had previously been struck off the rolls of the school in an ongoing dispute over fees.
This action was taken a day after the DoE ordered the school to restore the students forthwith and provide that there shall be no discrimination with regard to unpaid fees which were not duly approved.
A video accessed by Hindustan Times showed a large security deployment at the school gate, where four men and two women bouncers were seen checking students. Parents said that even though the DoE had issued clear orders, “almost all of the 32 children were turned away.” They also claimed that “no DoE official was present to enforce the order.”
The DoE directive, given late Thursday after a petition in the Delhi High Court, had said that the school was going against court orders that prohibited fee increases without permission and discrimination against students based on fee grounds. The department had clearly directed DPS Dwarka to withdraw its initial decision to expel the 32 students and to “ensure no child is harassed or denied education.
The directive also ordered the school to file a compliance report within three days. But the events on Friday indicate the school has not obeyed these orders.
The row is rooted in a protracted dispute between DPS Dwarka and parents on arbitrary fee increases and mistreatment of students. More than 100 parents had approached the Delhi High Court requesting the intervention of the DoE and Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena and take over the administration of the school.
In their petition, parents highlighted the fact that earlier the DoE had instructed the school to refund unapproved and excess fees imposed in the 2022-23 academic session and to cease charging students penal fees for pending payments. Parents claimed that in place of action on this direction, the school once again raised fees for the 2025-26 session without obtaining prior DoE permission.
The parents were asked to pay 50% of the hike during a short hearing on Thursday by Justice Vikas Mahajan. Petitioners refused, citing their financial situation. Their counsel, Sandeep Gupta, told the court that a related matter on the reinstatement of the 32 students who were expelled was to be heard by a different bench headed by Justice Sachin Datta on Friday.
In spite of repeated directives and court notices, Friday’s occurrence highlights an on-going standoff between the school administration and worried parents.
