AAP says private schoolsholding back students’ board exam admit cards, ‘blackmailing’ parents

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday alleged that private schools in Delhi are withholding students’ board exam admit cards over non-payment of “increased fees” and accused the BJP government of inaction.

Addressing a press conference, AAP Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj claimed that private schools had begun “blackmailing” middle-class parents who were unable to pay “arbitrarily hiked fees”. “Parents who were not paying the arbitrarily hiked fees under court orders have found that their children’s board examination roll numbers [admit cards] have been withheld by the schools. It is complete hooliganism,” he said.

Mr. Bharadwaj alleged that as anxious families struggle to safeguard their children’s academic future, the government has remained a “silent spectator” to an “open intimidation” by private institutions.

“The collusion between the government and private school owners is clearly visible. Despite all the false claims of the BJP government, not a single private school has reduced the hiked fees,” he added.

Mr. Bharadwaj also alleged that the BJP government’s much-publicised Delhi School Education (Transparency in Fixation and Regulation of Fees) Act, 2025 – enacted to regulate private school fees – has begun to unravel in court with its fallout now being felt in classrooms across the Capital. According to him, several schools have resorted to “strong-arm tactics” after weaknesses in the legislation were exposed.

The Delhi government, on February 2, informed the Supreme Court that it would not implement the Act from the 2025-26 academic year. The Delhi BJP and the Education Minister’s office did not respond to the allegations till the time of going to press.