Parents, schools welcome fee bill in Delhi, hope for ‘clarity'

Hindustan Times

30-04-2025

New Delhi
Parents across the Capital and school principals on Tuesday welcomed the Delhi government's Delhi School Education (Transparency in Fixation and Regulation of Fees) Bill, 2025, saying it would provide much-needed clarity on the issue of unauthorised fee hikes.
In a press conference on the day, Delhi education minister Ashish Sood said that schools will not be allowed to increase fees 'arbitrarily' hereon and that all decisions on fee hikes will be taken in consultation with parents, while the government retains the authority to regulate fees.
Minakshi Kushwaha, principal of Birla Vidya Niketan, Pushp Vihar, said: 'To align with NEP 2020... needs investment, so schools hiking fee is not with bad intention and we hope that this bill will simplify the process.'
Mallika Preman, principal, Tagore International School, also welcomed the bill. 'The implementation of the bill should benefit all the stakeholders,' she said.
Richa Sharma, principal, Ramjas School RK Puram said that the school appreciated the Delhi government's intent to ensure transparency, but called for a balanced approach. 'The bill must consider rising operational costs and allow autonomy for quality education while protecting the interests of parents. Dialogue is key to consensus,' she said.
Sudha Acharya, principal of ITL Public School, Dwarka, said that given how fee hikes were being perceived among the public, the bill will increase awareness and participation of parents. 'Inclusion of women and one member of backward group in the committee is welcome,' she said.
Parents said the government's decision signals a positive and proactive step on their demands.
Neetu Takroo, whose ward studies in Maharaja Agrasen Public School, Pitampura, said: 'Introduction of women's participation in school-level fee regulation committee is a welcome move.'
Aparajita Gautam, president, Delhi Parents Association, said this has been a longstanding demand and that it was a positive step towards addressing it. 'The induction of members, especially parents, into the school-level committee will be a crucial move, as many issues can be solved with increased participation,' she said.
However, some parents remained sceptical, due to an array of factors.
Mahesh Mishra, whose child is a student of DPS Dwarka, said most schools in the city did not have democratically elected parent-teacher associations (PTAs). 'Without this crucial representation, the first-level committee proposed in the bill—tasked with reviewing fee structures—will be biased in favour of school management,' he said.
Nitin Gupta, whose ward studies in Srijan Public School, Model Town, said the ground reality was different and most private schools were blatantly violating guidelines issued by the directorate of education (DoE). 'In recent days, dozens of schools have been served notices, but no concrete action has been taken. Mere notices or minor penalties have no effect unless they are strictly enforced. Most schools consider these directives mere formalities and continue to defy them,' he said.
Sameer Bhalla, parent of a DPS Rohini student, said that the initial impression of the bill does not resolve the issue of fees already paid and harassment faced by students over the past few months. 'The government should state what actions they have taken against defaulting schools,' he said.
Supreme Court lawyer and education activist Ashok Agrawal said that the bill is going to open the floodgates for litigation. 'Initial impression of the bill is that it is complicated and has room for causing more confusion,' he said.