NEW DELHI, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- India's Delhi government has threatened to take over some 449 private schools in the city if they fail to give back "excess fees" charged from students within a fortnight.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal issued the ultimatum to the private schools Friday evening after a special panel that looked into school fee hike in the Indian capital found many of them had overcharged students over the years and recommended refund of the excess money.
"We are not against private schools, there is no witch hunting. We are appealing to these 449 schools to implement the committee's recommendations and give back extra fees to students within two weeks," Kejriwal told the media.
"The Delhi government does not intend to interfere, but will surely discipline the schools if needed. I hope we don't have to take over. Today, we intend to send out a message to the management of those schools to implement the recommendations," he added.
Delhi's Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia also made it clear that private schools in the city "will not be allowed to loot students like they used to do under previous governments due to political collusion."
Private schools have not yet responded to the government's ultimatum.
