Fee hike rules in private schools of Delhi barely followed in the past few years, say parents

The Hindu

15-05-2025

Amid growing outrage over the arbitrary fee hikes in private schools, the Delhi government has recently approved a draft Bill that aims to regulate the increase in school fees and bring relief to the parents who have taken to the streets in the past month.
Besides parents' protests, the fee hike issue has also snowballed into a political slugfest between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which have pointed fingers at each other for igniting the issue in the first place.
Structural reforms
The draft Bill promises key structural reforms such as the formation of three committees at the school, district and State levels. Taking a cue from the earlier framework, it proposes a ₹50,000 penalty per student if the schools take 'coercive action' such as isolating students for non-payment of the increased fee.
Currently, schools are following the Delhi School Education Act, 1973, which prohibits mid-season fee hikes and makes it mandatory for schools to notify the Directorate of Education (DoE) before increasing fees.
Shailendra Sharma, who served as the principal adviser to the Education Director during the previous AAP government, said that the DoE recognises two types of private schools. There are roughly 300 schools built on Delhi Development Authority (DDA) land, and the remaining 1,500 schools are run by private, religious and charitable trusts.
'The schools built on DDA lands need prior government approval before fee hikes, while the other schools are also expected to inform the DoE about their proposed fees before the academic year begins,' said Mr. Sharma.
'No profiteering'
In its 2004 judgment, the Supreme Court mandated that schools must not 'profiteer' from students. 'Based on this, the [Arvind] Kejriwal[-led AAP] government has prevented arbitrary fees since 2015,' said Mr. Sharma.
Meanwhile, Aparajita Gautam, president of the Delhi Parents' Association, said that under the 1973 Act, the consequences for violations were severe, ranging from freezing the funds of aided schools to derecognition and even a government takeover for unaided institutions.
'However, this has barely been followed in the past few years. Schools that have been derecognised have moved court and got a stay claiming that it impacts the students. Many schools, despite not being granted permission to increase their fees, have been doing so in the past few years with hardly any action taken,' Ms. Gautam said, highlighting that several schools have increased fees without DoE approval.
'The draft Bill will be a relief for parents. However, it should be in the public domain, open to suggestions from parents before being passed. It should be implemented strictly, and the government should ensure that the committees are being formed fairly,' she added.