Delhi govt tables bill in Assembly to regulate fee hikes by private schools

New Delhi: Education Minister Ashish Sood on Monday tabled a bill to regulate fee hikes by private schools in Delhi on the first day of the Monsoon session of the Assembly, claiming "threats" were issued to stop it in its tracks. Ahead of the introduction of the Delhi School Education Transparency in Fixation and Regulation of Fees Bill, 2025, in the Assembly, Sood said a hike in fees by private schools was the "biggest legacy" issue that the Rekha Gupta government is going to solve.

Every year, parents of schoolchildren were affected by the hike in private school fees, he said. Efforts were made to "scare us from tabling the bill in the Assembly by the education mafia and those having nexus with it." He said allegations were levelled against him as well as the chief minister to stop the bill. "We decided to bring this bill despite the pressure and threat to stop it." Sood also slammed the previous AAP government in Delhi, accusing it of "underhanded dealing" with private schools that hiked fees without any fear.

The bill was prepared with a top-to-bottom approach, inspired by the concept of "government by the people for the people," he said. "This bill, after becoming law, will enhance transparency and stop malpractice through a strong regulatory mechanism involving Committees at three levels and provisions of penalties and termination of recognition of schools on violations of its provisions," he said. It proposes the formation of three committees at the school, district, and state levels to decide on fee hikes.

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Fee regulation criteria

The decisions on the fee hike will be binding for three years. Each private unaided school, including those offering Indian and foreign curricula, minority-run schools, and institutions on concessional land, will be required to form a School Level Fee Regulation Committee by July 15 every academic year. The bill outlines several factors to be considered while deciding the fee, including the school's location, quality of infrastructure and education, administrative costs, staff salaries, surplus funds, and any other factors prescribed.

It also grants the Director of Education special powers to review the records of the fee committees and issue directions if any discrepancies are found. As per the bill, the director may also refer cases to the relevant appellate or revision committees. He further said that if schools are found collecting unapproved fees, they will be asked to refund the excess amount within 20 working days.

In addition, penalties ranging from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh for first-time violations and Rs 2 lakh to Rs 10 lakh for repeated offences may be imposed. If a school fails to refund the excess amount within the stipulated time, the fine will be doubled after 20 days, tripled after 40 days, and will continue to increase accordingly, as mentioned in the bill. The bill further allows the Director of Education to take strict action in case of repeated violations. These may include debarring responsible officials, restricting fee hikes in future, suspending or withdrawing the school's recognition, or even taking over its management.

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Student protection

To prevent coercive fee recovery, the bill prohibits schools from harassing students for non-payment. This includes actions like striking names off rolls, withholding exam results, denying access to classes, or causing public humiliation. A penalty of Rs 50,000 per violation may be levied on the school management, it added. The minister also pointed out that the bill seeks to address gaps in the existing fee regulation framework under the Delhi School Education Act, 1973, which has failed to check arbitrary fee hikes in private unaided schools.

The new bill introduces stricter monitoring, financial transparency, and a grievance redressal mechanism to protect parents' interests, Sood added. Leader of Opposition Atishi demanded that the bill be sent to a 'Select Committee' before it is considered in the House. She also demanded that fees be frozen at the 2024–25 level so that no fresh hike would be implemented by the schools.