Illegal fees collected at CNI Girls’ Inter College, claims RTI Club

Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 13 Aug: The RTI Club has levelled serious allegations of corruption against CNI Girls’ Inter College, Dehradun. Addressing a press conference at the Press Club, here, on Tuesday, RTI Club President Dr BP Mathani said that an RTI inquiry has revealed that the school principal and management have been illegally collecting fees from students for the past 14 years.
According to Mathani, over Rs 35 lakh was taken under various heads such as diesel, maintenance, helper teacher, and “government donation”. He alleged that instead of being used for the school’s needs, the money was spent for personal purposes, including private lunches and dinners, fuel for personal vehicles, donations, Christmas parties, church expenses, construction work, hotel stays, travel, and meetings.
The principal also paid her son’s fees for a Pune-based institute from the school funds. Items like candles, spices, rice, milk, blankets, and even oranges were bought using the school’s money.
The RTI documents also show that some of the collected money was deposited in the bank without proper records, which is a case of fund misuse.
The Uttarakhand School Education Act, 2006, clearly bans charging extra fees or donations. Breaking this rule can lead to three years in jail, a fine of Rs 5,000, or both. Despite this, no strict action has been taken.
The RTI Club had complained to the Chief Education Officer, the District Magistrate, and other senior officials on 10 July 2025, but no update has come yet.
Earlier, the Additional Director of Education had made negative remarks in the service record of Principal Vinita Martin and ordered action. The Information Commission had also imposed a penalty, but Martin got a stay order from the High Court.
Despite serious charges and evidence, the principal was granted pension and other benefits. The High Court has imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on the Director, Secondary Education, for negligence in the matter. The RTI Club is now demanding that the administration take strict action against those involved to put an end to the illegal collection of money.
The press conference was organised by the RTI Club and was attended by several members, including Yag Bhushan Sharma (RTI Club Secretary), Ajay Narayan Sharma (RTI Club Organisation Secretary), and Shanti Prasad Bhatt (RTI Club Secretary), along with others.