The Delhi government has issued a show cause notice to the management of a private school in Janakpuri regarding illegal branch operation, serious negligence in the safety of children and financial irregularities. Delhi Education Minister Ashish Sood has instructed the Directorate of Education to take strict action under legal provisions against the school’s management trust and its officials.
The school has been given 7 days to present its stand. If a satisfactory reply is not received within the stipulated period, the proposed strict action will be initiated immediately.
Minister of Education Said that any kind of compromise with the safety and dignity of children is not acceptable to the Delhi government. The school is legally and morally responsible for the safety of each child under the principle of In Loco Parentis. If an organization hides a serious incident like child sexual abuse, runs a branch illegally in the basement of a residential building and misuses school funds, the government will not remain a mute spectator. If necessary, action will be taken to take over the management of the school and cancel the lease of its land.
Major violations revealed during inspection
A detailed investigation conducted by various committees of the Directorate of Education revealed serious shortcomings related to administrative, financial and child safety in the school.
Hiding the incident of child sexual abuse: On April 30, 2026, an incident of alleged sexual harassment of a nursery student took place in the pre-primary branch, about which the school management did not inform the Directorate of Education despite mandatory provisions.
CCTV system completely failed: During the police investigation, all the 64 CCTV cameras installed in the pre-primary campus were found to be switched off. The school had deliberately not signed a contract for their maintenance.
Illegal and unsafe branch operation: The school was running nursery and KG classes from a private residential building located in Narang Colony without any approval. The basement of the building was being used for activities for small children.
Lack of child protection system: The school neither had a child protection policy, nor a child protection committee, nor was a POCSO trained nodal officer appointed. Mandatory police verification of security personnel was also not done.
Lack of basic facilities: Due to severe shortage of drinking water, parents had to send two to three water bottles with their children every day. The fire safety certificate (Fire NOC) of the school had expired in the year 2020 itself, which has not been renewed till date.
Allegations of serious financial irregularities
- Nearly Rs 6 crore earmarked for retirement benefits of employees was transferred to another branch in the name of so-called “loan settlement”.
- Unauthorized professional fees were also paid to the manager and trustees from the school fund.
- Exploitation of employees and illegal fee increase: The salaries of teachers and other employees were delayed by four months and payments were made as per the old pay scale. On the other hand, the school increased the fees by 15 percent in the 2025-26 session contrary to the instructions of the High Court.
proposed drastic action
In view of the above serious and continuous violations, the Directorate of Education has asked the school management as to why the following action should not be taken against it such as
Government takeover of school: Under Section 20(1) of the Delhi School Education Act, 1973, the management of the school should be immediately taken over by the Delhi Government.
Recommendation to cancel land lease: A recommendation should be sent to Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to immediately cancel the lease of land allotted at concessional rate.
Criminal Action: Strict criminal action should be recommended against the school management and concerned authorities under the POCSO Act and Juvenile Justice (JJ) Act for serious negligence in child safety and failure to ensure the safety of children.
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