NEW DELHI: The Delhi Cabinet on Tuesday approved a Bill to regulate fee in all private schools in the national capital, prescribing fines up to Rs 10 lakh for any hike without proper approval. Addressing a press conference, Gupta termed the Bill a "bold and historic" move and added that the BJP government will call an urgent session of the Assembly to pass the Delhi School Education Transparency in Fixation and Regulation of Fees Bill, 2025.
The chief minister, flanked by Education Minister Ashish Sood, said that the issue was discussed widely in recent days and there was "panic" among the parents due to activities of some schools and complaints regarding "harassment" of students in the name of fee hike.
"The previous governments in Delhi made no provision to prevent fee hike. There was no guideline to help government prevent fee hike by private schools," she said.
Sood said that the Bill proposes formation of a three-tier committees at school, district and state levels. This will bring much-needed transparency and structure to the process of determining school fees and protect parents from unregulated hikes.
The entire process will be time-bound, ensuring that parents are not left in limbo. The law will come into force from the current academic session, he said.
Any proposal for fee hike by the private school managements will be examined by committees at the school, district and state level.
According to the education minister, at the first level, every school will constitute a school-level fee regulation committee. This committee will include the chairperson of the school management, the principal as member secretary, three teachers, and five parents, including members from SC/ST communities and at least two women.
"A nominee from the Directorate of Education will serve as an observer. Schools will no longer be able to increase fees arbitrarily. Any hike will be allowed only once every three years and only after approval from this committee.
"The decision to increase fees will be based on 18 critical parameters, including the condition of classrooms and buildings, the school's financial reserves, and the quality of science laboratories, libraries, and playgrounds," he said.
These standards aim to ensure that fee hikes, if approved, are justified by real infrastructure or service improvements. Sood further announced that these school-level committees will be formed by July 31 and will be required to submit their reports within 30 days.
"If the school-level committee fails to submit its recommendation on time, the matter will be escalated to the District Level Committee. If resolution is still not achieved, a State Level Committee comprising seven members will be empowered to take a final decision," he said.
The district fee appellate committee will be constituted by the Director of Education. It will have deputy director, education as chairperson, and zonal deputy director, a chartered accountant, accounts functionary of the district, two each of teachers and parents from school committees, as members.
The state-level revision committee will be headed by Director, Education and have an eminent educationist, a chartered accountant, representatives of private schools and parents, as members.
It will be the final appellate authority in matters of fee hike and its decisions will be binding for three academic years, said an Education Department statement.
If the schools hike fee in violations of the new law or in contravention of the committee decision, they will be liable to penalties of Rs 1-10 lakh and may also face cancellation of their registration and take over of their management by the government, Sood said.
Further, if the schools are found to be involved in employing coercive methods like harassing students for non payment of hiked fees, such as striking off names from rolls, restricting access to classrooms, withholding results-penalties ranging from Rs 1-10 lakh will be imposed, he said.
The proposed legislation draws inspiration from the Rajasthan Schools (Regulation of Fees) Act, 2016, upheld by the Supreme Court in 2021, and aligns with the goals of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, it said.
The Bill also prohibits coercive actions against students for non-payment of fees, such as removal from rolls, withholding results, or subjecting them to humiliation, it stated.
The key features in the Bill included mandatory selection of parent and teacher representatives through a draw of lots, fixed fee structures for three academic years, time-bound dispute resolution within 30 days, and stringent penalties for violations-escalating further if corrective steps are not taken in time, it read.
Additionally, schools with suspended recognition or financial irregularities will not be allowed to propose fee hikes and the DoE will be empowered to withdraw recognition or take over the school's management in serious cases and fines may be recovered through attachment and sale of assets, it added.
Currently, fee regulation in Delhi's private schools is governed by Section 17(3) of the Delhi School Education Act, 1973 and Rule 180 of the Delhi School Education Rules.
The rules require schools to submit their proposed fee structures to the directorate before the start of each academic session and prohibit any hike without prior approval.
However, the rules lack clear enforcement provisions, often leading to disputes between schools and the government when fee hikes are challenged, the statement added. PTI VIT NSM SHB BUN VIT MNK MNK
The chief minister, flanked by Education Minister Ashish Sood, said that the issue was discussed widely in recent days and there was "panic" among the parents due to activities of some schools and complaints regarding "harassment" of students in the name of fee hike.
"The previous governments in Delhi made no provision to prevent fee hike. There was no guideline to help government prevent fee hike by private schools," she said.
Sood said that the Bill proposes formation of a three-tier committees at school, district and state levels. This will bring much-needed transparency and structure to the process of determining school fees and protect parents from unregulated hikes.
The entire process will be time-bound, ensuring that parents are not left in limbo. The law will come into force from the current academic session, he said.
Any proposal for fee hike by the private school managements will be examined by committees at the school, district and state level.
According to the education minister, at the first level, every school will constitute a school-level fee regulation committee. This committee will include the chairperson of the school management, the principal as member secretary, three teachers, and five parents, including members from SC/ST communities and at least two women.
"A nominee from the Directorate of Education will serve as an observer. Schools will no longer be able to increase fees arbitrarily. Any hike will be allowed only once every three years and only after approval from this committee.
"The decision to increase fees will be based on 18 critical parameters, including the condition of classrooms and buildings, the school's financial reserves, and the quality of science laboratories, libraries, and playgrounds," he said.
These standards aim to ensure that fee hikes, if approved, are justified by real infrastructure or service improvements. Sood further announced that these school-level committees will be formed by July 31 and will be required to submit their reports within 30 days.
"If the school-level committee fails to submit its recommendation on time, the matter will be escalated to the District Level Committee. If resolution is still not achieved, a State Level Committee comprising seven members will be empowered to take a final decision," he said.
The district fee appellate committee will be constituted by the Director of Education. It will have deputy director, education as chairperson, and zonal deputy director, a chartered accountant, accounts functionary of the district, two each of teachers and parents from school committees, as members.
The state-level revision committee will be headed by Director, Education and have an eminent educationist, a chartered accountant, representatives of private schools and parents, as members.
It will be the final appellate authority in matters of fee hike and its decisions will be binding for three academic years, said an Education Department statement.
If the schools hike fee in violations of the new law or in contravention of the committee decision, they will be liable to penalties of Rs 1-10 lakh and may also face cancellation of their registration and take over of their management by the government, Sood said.
Further, if the schools are found to be involved in employing coercive methods like harassing students for non payment of hiked fees, such as striking off names from rolls, restricting access to classrooms, withholding results-penalties ranging from Rs 1-10 lakh will be imposed, he said.
The proposed legislation draws inspiration from the Rajasthan Schools (Regulation of Fees) Act, 2016, upheld by the Supreme Court in 2021, and aligns with the goals of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, it said.
The Bill also prohibits coercive actions against students for non-payment of fees, such as removal from rolls, withholding results, or subjecting them to humiliation, it stated.
The key features in the Bill included mandatory selection of parent and teacher representatives through a draw of lots, fixed fee structures for three academic years, time-bound dispute resolution within 30 days, and stringent penalties for violations-escalating further if corrective steps are not taken in time, it read.
Additionally, schools with suspended recognition or financial irregularities will not be allowed to propose fee hikes and the DoE will be empowered to withdraw recognition or take over the school's management in serious cases and fines may be recovered through attachment and sale of assets, it added.
Currently, fee regulation in Delhi's private schools is governed by Section 17(3) of the Delhi School Education Act, 1973 and Rule 180 of the Delhi School Education Rules.
The rules require schools to submit their proposed fee structures to the directorate before the start of each academic session and prohibit any hike without prior approval.
However, the rules lack clear enforcement provisions, often leading to disputes between schools and the government when fee hikes are challenged, the statement added. PTI VIT NSM SHB BUN VIT MNK MNK
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