Delhi govt tables bill to regulate fee hikes by private schools in Assembly
(You can now subscribe to our
(You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel
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.The bill lays down that recognised, private, and unaided schools found arbitrarily increasing fees will face a fine ranging from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 3 lakh on the first violation. It could be as high as Rs 10 lakh on repeated violations.It proposes the formation of three committees - at the school, district, and state level - to decide on fee hikes. 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.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.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Indian Express
15 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
India, Russia reaffirm commitment to enhance defence cooperation
MOSCOW: India and Russia on Tuesday reaffirmed their commitment to boost bilateral defence cooperation during a meeting between Indian Ambassador Vinay Kumar and Russia's Deputy Defence Minister Colonel-General Alexander Fomin. According to a statement by the Russian Ministry of Defence, the Indian envoy called on Col-Gen Fomin, who is in charge of international defence cooperation, and the meeting was held in a "warm and friendly atmosphere, customary for Russian-Indian ties." "During the conversation, the sides discussed in detail the pertinent issues of bilateral interaction in the sphere of defence and confirmed their intent toward the further strengthening of relevant cooperation in the spirit of particularly privileged strategic partnership," said the statement. The meeting took place amid US President Donald Trump's threats to slap harsh sanctions on India for buying crude oil from Russia.
Indian Express
15 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Intelligent textiles, desert warfare systems among key deep tech projects in pipeline: Defence Ministry
INTELLIGENT TEXTILES, desert warfare systems and wargaming technologies are some of the key areas that have been identified by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) as part of the Deep Tech research under Technology Development Fund (TDF). A separate allocation of Rs 500 crores has been made for these advanced technology projects with defence applications, informed Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth in a written reply to MP Naveen Jindal in the Lok Sabha recently. Jindal had sought to know if the government had approved the new Deep Tech and Cutting-Edge policies under the Technology Development Fund (TDF) Scheme and if so, sought details of the projects along with their key features and objectives. Seth said in his reply, 'An additional grant or corpus of Rs 500 crore has been approved by the Defence Minister to cater for deep-tech and cutting edge projects as separate verticals under TDF. The process of the selection and identification of Deep Tech projects has been initiated. Currently, nine projects are launched under this initiative by TDF.' He added that nine industries are engaged in four projects sanctioned through DRDO Industry Academia Centres of Excellence (DIA-CoEs) under the grants in aid scheme of DRDO. Seth told the House that the projects cover research areas such as Intelligent Textile Technologies, Desert Warfare Technologies, War-gaming Technologies, Powder Metallurgy, High Power Microwave Sources and Devices, Advanced Ballistics, Photonic Technologies, Aerospace Systems and Materials, Micro and Nano Systems Science and Technology, Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, Quantum Technology, Naval Systems and Naval Technologies, High Power CW Laser Source, Additive Manufacturing, Advanced Materials and Processing, Advanced Nano Materials and Sensors based on Semiconductors. Intelligent Textiles are fabrics that can sense, react, or adapt to environmental conditions or user input. Desert Warfare systems are military equipment and mechanisms specifically designed for effective combat operations in hot, arid, and sandy desert environments. Wargaming Technologies and essentially simulation tools are softwares used to model military operations for training, planning, and strategic decision-making. Seth also provided a list of 55 institutes from 20 states in India that have undertaken a total of 302 projects in these areas. These include two institutes from Pune including Defence Institute of Advanced Technology (DIAT) and the College of Engineering, Pune (COEP). He added, 'DRDO has a Long Term Directed Research Policy (LTDRP) for engaging academia. Projects are monitored at three stages in regular intervals throughout the year. Technical evaluation committee (TEC) evaluates the new project proposals and does regular technical progress monitoring. Research Advisory Board (RAB) reviews the new projects recommended by TEC and also monitors sanctioned projects for their progress and addresses the techno managerial issues of Centre of Excellence (CoE) and the projects. The Governing Council approves the projects, oversees the overall functioning of the Centre and projects sanctioned through the Centre.'
Hindustan Times
15 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Utilise Chenab river water, shelve SYL canal issue: Punjab CM to Centre
Chandigarh, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday urged the Centre to utilise the waters of the Chenab River to resolve the water-sharing dispute between his state and Haryana and sought the scrapping of the Sutlej Yamuna Link canal project. Utilise Chenab river water, shelve SYL canal issue: Punjab CM to Centre Mann participated in a meeting called by Union Jal Shakti Minister C R Patil in Delhi over the SYL canal issue, in which Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini was also present. The Punjab chief minister said in the last meeting held on July 9, the Union government informed that the Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan has been suspended and it opens up an opportunity for India to utilise water from the Chenab River, one of the western rivers earlier given to Pakistan under the treaty. An official statement quoting Mann said the Centre should now divert Chenab's waters to Indian dams like Ranjit Sagar, Pong, or Bhakra, adding that to carry this extra water, new canals and infrastructure would be required, which would be built in Punjab. Mann said these canals and infrastructure can be first used to meet the needs of the state, and after Punjab's requirements are met, the water can be supplied to Haryana and Rajasthan through the same canal system. He said using Chenab water will reduce Punjab's dependence on groundwater, revive surface irrigation and support the farming community, which is the backbone of the state's economy, besides saving groundwater of the state for future generations. Punjab, which is currently facing groundwater depletion, must be prioritised in any future strategies for the usage, diversion, or allocation of these river waters, he said. Mann also said the waters of the western rivers should be allocated to Punjab on a priority basis, adding that new storage dams upstream of existing Bhakra and Pong in Himachal Pradesh should be constructed, which will significantly enhance the storage and regulation of western river waters. Seeking the shelving of the SYL project, Mann unequivocally said that the Sharda-Yamuna Link for transfer of surplus Sharda River water to the Yamuna River and diversion of Chenab water to Beas River through the Rohtang tunnel should be done to eliminate the need for the SYL canal. He said the long-conceived project of Sharda-Yamuna Link should be taken up on priority and surplus water be transferred to the Yamuna River at a suitable location. Mann said the additional water available could offset the balance water requirement of Haryana from the Ravi-Beas system, apart from addressing the ever-growing drinking water requirement of Delhi and the availability of the Yamuna water to Rajasthan. Batting for the Yamuna-Sutlej Link canal, he said that the memorandum of understanding of May 12, 1994, of allocation of Yamuna waters between Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, and Rajasthan is to be reviewed after 2025. Therefore, Punjab should be included as a partner state in the allocation of Yamuna waters, and 60 per cent of the surplus water of the Yamuna River should be considered for the state, he said. Haryana has enough scope to get additional water from other sources, which also needs to be accounted for, said Mann. He said that Haryana is also receiving 2.703 million acre-feet of water from the Ghaggar River, Tangri Nadi, Markanda River, Saraswati Nadi, Chautang-Rakshi, Nai Nalah, Sahibi Nadi, Krishna Dhuan, and Landoha Nalah, which has not been accounted for so far when deciding the water allocations between the states. Mann reiterated that the SYL canal is an "emotive issue" for Punjab and its construction could trigger "serious" law and order challenges in the state and escalate into a national crisis, with neighbouring Haryana and Rajasthan also feeling the impact. The total water requirement of Punjab is 52 MAF, and water available with the state of Punjab is only 26.75 MAF , said Mann. Talking to reporters in the national capital after the meeting, Saini said a significant step forward was made on the ongoing dialogue over water-sharing between Haryana and Punjab. The talks were held in a cordial and cooperative atmosphere. The issue has been under discussion for a long time, and earlier deliberations held on July 9 had already indicated a positive shift, he said. This time, we have moved a step further. The discussions were held in an even more constructive environment, Saini added. Saini asserted that Haryana will present its case in a "positive and solution-oriented" manner before the Supreme Court on August 13 and expressed confidence that a fair and favourable resolution will be achieved. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
