Govt. to table private school fee Bill in Monsoon Session: CM

The Hindu

3 days ago

Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Saturday said the Delhi government will table a Bill to regulate fee hikes by private schools during the upcoming Monsoon Session of the Assembly, beginning August 4.
Amid ongoing protests by parents, the Delhi government had earlier approved a draft of the Bill and proposed bringing an Ordinance, since the Assembly was not in session. Now, it has decided to table the Delhi School Education (Transparency in Fixation and Regulation of Fees) Bill, 2025.
'The Delhi government will table the Bill to regulate fee hikes by private schools in the Monsoon Session of Assembly beginning from August 4,' Ms. Gupta said while addressing the media.
The parents' groups, while pointing out issues in the Bill, said that they will send their detailed suggestions to the government on Sunday.
Three-level checks
A three-level verification will be implemented to regulate fee hikes, according to the Bill seen by The Hindu.
First, schools will form an 11-member committee comprising the school management – a management representative and principal – three teachers, five parents from the parent-teacher association, selected by a draw of lots, and a nominee of the Directorate of Education (DoE).
A District Fee Appellate Committee will hear appeals against the decisions taken by school-level committees. A similar procedure will be followed with a State-level revision committee, which will be the highest appellate authority.
An aggrieved parents' group, which the Bill describes as 15% of the total strength of parents in an affected school, may appeal to the District Fee Appellate Committee within 30 days from the time the fees are approved, against the decisions of school-level committees.
The Bill also specifies that if a school is found levying a fee that is not determined in the provisions of the Act, the DoE will direct the school to roll back the fee and refund the excess amount to the parents.
The penalty for violators can range between ₹1 lakh and ₹10 lakh.
Meanwhile, a fine of ₹50,000 will be levied on schools for harassing students over delayed payment of fees.
The Bill also mentions the 10 factors that will determine the fee structure, including the location of the school, infrastructure made available, the education standardof schools, and a reasonable revenue surplus as may be prescribed.
Divya Mattey, a parent of a student who studies in Delhi Public School, Dwarka, said, 'It will be difficult to get a minimum of 15% of the parent body to raise a question.'
Mr. Mattey said that parents have noted that the penalties might not affect bigger schools, for whom '₹50,000 might be a small amount'.
AAP, BJP at odds
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Delhi State president Saurabh Bharadwaj criticised the Bill, saying, 'Until now, even under the 1973 law, if a single parent felt that fees had been unfairly hiked, they could file a complaint with the DoE. Now, that has been scrapped. Under the new law, you'll need a minimum of 15% of parents to raise a complaint. In a school with 3,000 students, that means identifying 450 parents – a near-impossible task.'
Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva said, 'It would have been better if Saurabh Bharadwaj had waited until the Bill was tabled in the upcoming session before commenting on it.'