Notices issued to 25 pvt schools indicted by CAG, DoE tells HC

Updated on: Monday, March 21, 2011

The Directorate of Education (DoE) of Delhi government today told the Delhi High Court that notices were issued to 25 unaided private schools here following their indictment by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) for accounting malpractices including faking the loss.
"We (DoE) have already issued notices to 25 erring schools," the counsel, appearing for the schools' regulator, told a bench of Justices A K Sikri and Sidhharth Mridul said.

The DoE said the show cause notices were issued in pursuance of the CAG's report relating to financial year of 2006 to 2009.

Meanwhile, Ashok Aggarwal, counsel for the 'Delhi Abhibhavak Mahasangh', sought an investigation by an agency like CBI into the irregularities pointed out by the CAG in the report.

"The CAG reports reveals not only several accounting malpractices but commission of criminal offences. Some agency like CBI be asked to investigate into it," Aggarwal said.

Advancing the arguments, he said "as the new academic year is about to commence, the schools, which faked the loss, be restrained from raising fee as it is next to impossible to get it (hike) rolled back. Now, it is established that they are earning profits."

"Monitoring committees, on the lines of Tamil Nadu where former High Court Judges head them, could be formed. And they will monitor the issues such as fee hike," Aggarwal suggested.
He also referred to various apex court judgements to drive home the point that the private unaided schools have every right to hike the fees but they cannot be allowed to commercialise the education simultaneously."

Every child now has been awarded the right to free education, he said.

The lawyer, representing the schools, sought some time to rebut the arguments of Aggarwal saying "moreover, I have not been supplied with the copy of the CAG report."

To which, advocate Gaurang Kanth, appearing for CAG, said "the report is already there on the website."

The court fixed the matter on March 29 for hearing on the plea challenging the city government's decision to allow the schools to hike the tuition and the development fees.

Earlier, the CAG had filed its report indicting the unaided private schools for accounting malpractices including faking the loss.

"The schools did not follow the the accounting standards while preparing their final accounts. There was no prescribed accounting format," the CAG had said in its 64-page report.

"inspection of the schools by the DoE was inadequate. The DoE made only 10 visits in 25 schools during 2006 to 2009 against 75 envisaged in the Act...Due to weak governances by the DoE, the schools continued to enhance the fees despite having surplus funds."

The report dealt with the accounts of 25 schools including DPS R K Puram, Modern School, Barakhamba Road, and Amity International.

The CAG said the schools, which earned profits, used to prepare accounts showing losses by transferring the surplus funds into the next financial year.

Schools did not admit students belonging to the economically weaker section (EWS) of the society to desired extent, it said, adding the process lacked transparency in dealing with the issue.

Notices issued to 25 pvt schools indicted by CAG, DoE tells HC

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