New law to regulate school fees notified; promises relief to parents
,Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said the legislation will check the commercialization of education while ensuring transparency, fairness, and parental involvement in deciding school fees. According to her, the law places the concerns of parents at the center of the process, giving them a direct role in regulating school charges.
Under the new law, no school will be allowed to charge fees beyond what has been officially approved. To ensure participation and accountability, every school will now have to form a fee determination committee that includes management representatives, teachers, parents, women, and members from underprivileged communities. At the district level, grievance redressal committees headed by senior education officials will handle complaints and disputes related to fees, while appeals against their decisions will be examined by a high-level review committee to maintain impartiality.
Transparency has also been made mandatory under the Act. Schools will be required to publicly display details of approved fees on notice boards, websites, and in Hindi, English, as well as the school's medium of instruction. The law also brings stability by mandating that once a fee structure is fixed, it will remain unchanged for three academic years, preventing repeated hikes. Schools found violating the rules or charging illegal amounts will face heavy financial penalties.
Notably, the bill was passed in the Delhi Assembly on August 8, and the government has described it as a 'historic victory' for lakhs of parents who have long struggled with sudden and steep fee hikes.
The Chief Minister said that previous governments failed to address the issue, leaving parents helpless against private schools that raised fees without justification. Some schools reportedly increased fees by 30–45 percent in a single year. Parents had little participation in the process, while complaints often dragged on in lengthy legal battles without resolution.
According to the government, there were also instances where schools withhold report cards, denied admission to classes, or humiliated students over disputed fees. The new law prohibits such punitive actions and makes grievance redressal mandatory.
Gupta added that the legislation creates a 'transparent, participatory, and accountable' system of fee regulation, ensuring education remains a right and not a commercial transaction.
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