30 Students 'Expelled' by Pvt Dwarka School

Tensions erupted outside Delhi Public School, Dwarka on Tuesday as dozens of parents staged a protest, accusing the school of expelling around 30 students whose families had refused to pay a fee hike recently deemed "unauthorised" by the Delhi high court.

- Varun Bhandari

NEW DELHI: Tensions erupted outside Delhi Public School, Dwarka on Tuesday as dozens of parents staged a protest, accusing the school of expelling around 30 students whose families had refused to pay a fee hike recently deemed "unauthorised" by the Delhi high court.

Parents alleged the school deployed additional security guards and set up barricades to block entry, while some claimed that children who managed to get in were pulled out of class, made to sit in the sun, or sent home without notice.

The protest is the latest flashpoint in a months-long standoff between the school and families, many of whom have refused to pay a revised fee that lacks approval from the Directorate of Education (DoE).

On Tuesday, several parents said they were shocked to receive an email on May 9 informing them that their children's names had been struck off the rolls "with immediate effect" under Rule 35 of the Delhi School Education Act and Rules, 1973. Students, they said, were being randomly targeted and treated harshly.