Dispute over admit cards resolved: Education Minister Ashish Sood

After a day of high drama that saw the Opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) staging a protest outside a private school over three students allegedly being denied admit cards to appear for the CBSE Class 10 and 12 exams that commence on Tuesday citing non-payment of fees, Education Minister Ashish Sood said the matter has been resolved.

Mr. Sood held a meeting with parents of the aggrieved students and confirmed that they had been issued admit cards.

“This dispute has been going on for five years. AAP had ample time to resolve it, but they used it to do politics,” he said.

Earlier, several AAP leaders, including its Delhi chief Saurabh Bharadwaj, were detained by the police for protesting outside Apeejay School in Saket.

“There are several schools that have withheld admit cards for board exams. Open blackmail is going on in the Capital. Chief Minister [Rekha Gupta], Ministers, and the Education Department are standing with private schools,” Mr. Bharadwaj said.

Ajit Awasthi, father of one of the three students, had claimed that his son was denied the admit card despite paying the fees approved in 2022-2023.

Meanwhile, a source in the Education Department said the school has been charging approved fees.

A statement from the school read: “Concerns now being raised by parents of three students out of 151 Class 10 and 12 students reflect their closed mindset… towards the sincere efforts made by the school to amicably resolve the matter within the ambit of law despite prolonged non-payment of dues.”