NEW DELHI | The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has demanded action against the management of SS Mota Singh School after a Directorate of Education investigation flagged multiple serious violations. AAP Delhi State President Saurabh Bharadwaj said the school failed to report a sexual abuse incident to the Directorate of Education despite being legally required to do so, while no principal or vice principal had been appointed. He also questioned why the Rekha Gupta government had not registered an FIR against the management despite the findings.
The senior AAP leader further highlighted that the school was being run from a residential building without Directorate of Education approval, while its CCTV cameras had remained non-functional for months despite the management being aware of the issue. The investigation also found that mandatory Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) training had not been conducted for teachers, while the management tried to distance itself from the junior school. The AAP Delhi Chief urged the LG (Lieutenant Governor) to act and asked Chief Minister Rekha Gupta why the school and its management were being protected despite such serious violations.
AAP Delhi Unit Chief Saurabh Bharadwaj stated that when parents send their children to a private school, they do so believing that the school is responsible for their safety. “I had earlier pointed out that the way an incident involving a girl took place inside S.S. Mota Singh School, and the way the government appeared to defend the school, gave the impression that the government had some connection with the school. Earlier, there was little evidence, but now I have an official investigation report prepared by the Education Department.”
He emphasised that the report makes it clear that serious violations were taking place inside the school, directly contravening child protection laws and POCSO. “Despite this, the school continued to operate, and to this day, neither the government nor the Education Department has registered a POCSO case against the school management or the principal. Education Minister Ashish Sood and Rekha Gupta must answer this.”
The AAP Delhi Chief shared that the report had brought several shocking facts to light. “The first point is that this junior school was being run from a residential building without prior permission or approval from the Directorate of Education, and no legal action has been taken against them so far. Under child protection laws, POCSO and Directorate of Education guidelines, it is mandatory to inform the Directorate of Education about any such incident of sexual abuse, but the school did not report it. The matter moved forward only after we raised the issue.”
He further pointed out that the junior school did not have a principal or vice-principal. “Moreover, all 64 CCTV cameras in the school had been non-functional for several months, and the management was aware of this, yet no maintenance contract was awarded. This is a direct violation of the rules, but Ashish Sood’s department did not register a case. The school did not even have drinking water, and nursery children were asked to bring water from home.” He added that after the issue was raised and the school was served a show-cause notice, the school failed to provide a satisfactory response.
Saurabh Bharadwaj stated that the investigation had found several irregularities related to financial transactions at the school and that the school was arbitrarily increasing fees. “Not a single teacher had completed the mandatory POCSO or child safety training, and there was no Child Protection Committee in the school.”
He revealed that the school had only two male employees, one of whom was in jail, while the other, a security guard, had not undergone police verification. “Moreover, the vice-principal of the main school, in an act of fraud, submitted in writing that the main school had nothing to do with this junior school. How strange is it that a senior school is running a junior school, and now the entire school management and the vice-principal are trying to wash their hands of it? When asked why the school’s Economically Weaker Section (EWS) children were being sent to the junior school if there was no connection, they had no answer.”
Saurabh Bharadwaj pointed out that despite the investigation report confirming all these violations, the Delhi Government had still not registered any case against the school management. “It is worth asking what relationship the Delhi Government or the BJP has with this school that such determined efforts are being made to protect the school and its management.”
