Latest news with #TransparencyinFixationandRegulationofFees)Ordinance
Time of India
19 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Ordinance on school fees favours private schools, claims AAP
New Delhi: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday alleged that BJP-led Delhi govt's ordinance on regulating fee hikes favours private schools and decried it as an attempt to "fool" parents. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now There was no immediate reaction from the ruling BJP to the allegations. On Tuesday, Delhi Cabinet approved an ordinance empowering the govt to impose fines up to Rs 10 lakh on private schools for violating fee norms and even revoke their right to propose fee revisions. Education minister Ashish Sood said the cabinet, chaired by chief minister Rekha Gupta, approved the Delhi School Education (Transparency in Fixation and Regulation of Fees) Ordinance, 2025, which will be sent for presidential assent through the lieutenant governor. AAP Delhi state president Saurabh Bharadwaj alleged that in order to favour private schools, govt brought the ordinance through the backdoor. Calling it an "open" and "blatant" surrender of governance, he said the law is drafted entirely in favour of school management. "Ever since the BJP formed a govt in Delhi, the first session of private schools began with a wave of fee hikes. Parents were left with no choice but to pay," he said. Previously, schools had to seek approval from the Directorate of Education before raising fees. Bharadwaj said, "From April 1, private schools increased fees arbitrarily without approval, and the govt took no action—no rollback or refunds were ordered." Criticising the govt for bypassing public consultation and not bringing the bill before the legislative assembly, he said, "The draft was not made public, was not uploaded online, and no citizen feedback was sought." Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Bharadwaj explained the ordinance hands fee-fixing power to school-level committees, whose decisions will be final without govt oversight. These committees include five school members—three teachers, one principal, and one management member—and parents chosen by lottery. He warned the lottery might select uninterested or uninformed parents, giving schools a voting majority.
The Hindu
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Delhi Cabinet approves ordinance to regulate fee hikes; to be implemented retrospectively from April 1
The Delhi Cabinet on Tuesday approved an ordinance to regulate fee hikes by private schools. Education Minister Ashish Sood, who announced the decision, said the ordinance will be sent to President Droupadi Murmu for approval, following which it will be implemented retrospectively from April 1 this year. 'L-G to take it forward' Addressing a press conference, the Minister said the Delhi School Education (Transparency in Fixation and Regulation of Fees) Ordinance, 2025 had been approved in the eighth Cabinet meeting of the Bharatiya Janata Party government and that the ordinance would be sent to the President through Lieutenant-Governor V.K. Saxena. The announcement comes amid growing outrage among students and parents over 'unauthorised' fee hikes and alleged mistreatment of students by private schools. Mr. Sood said, 'We have paved the way for the [implementation of the] law. From today, the exploitation and extortion [of students and parents] will end. Now, they can confidently plan their family and fees through a fixed process.' In April, the Cabinet had approved a draft of the Bill, which includes stringent penalties against 'coercive actions' by schools, and fines of up to ₹50,000 per student against schools found to be taking punitive action against students over non-payment of increased fees, such as isolating them in libraries, as alleged by parents of some students at Delhi Public School, Dwarka. The Delhi School Education (Transparency in Fixation and Regulation of Fees) Bill, 2025 also mandates the constitution of three regulatory committees at the school, district, and State levels to monitor and approve fee hikes. The draft Bill proposes to impose fines ranging from ₹1 lakh to ₹10 lakh on schools found hiking fees illegally. However, the Bill is yet to be tabled in the Assembly. 'Needs more debate' While some parents welcomed the announcement about the ordinance, others suggested that the law should be introduced as a Bill through the Assembly after discussion with the relevant stakeholders. Aprajita Gautam, president of the Delhi Parents' Association, said, 'We welcome the announcement, but it should be introduced through the Assembly route as a Bill after considering suggestions from parents.' 'Subsequently, a copy of the Bill should be made public because lakhs of parents are impacted by it, and have a right to know about the law,' she added.
Hans India
2 days ago
- Politics
- Hans India
Delhi Cabinet Approves Ordinance to Regulate Private School Fees
New Delhi: In a significant move aimed at protecting parents from arbitrary fee hikes, the Delhi Cabinet on Monday approved the Delhi School Education (Transparency in Fixation and Regulation of Fees) Ordinance, 2025. The decision was taken during the government's 8th cabinet meeting held at the Secretariat. Announcing the decision at a press conference, Delhi's Education Minister Ashish Sood said the ordinance is designed to rein in exploitative fee collection practices by private schools and bring long-awaited financial relief to parents. 'In the last 100 days, every cabinet meeting under Chief Minister Rekha Gupta's leadership has resulted in key decisions in public interest,' Sood stated. 'Today's approval is a major step towards ensuring transparency and fairness in school fee structures.' The ordinance, once enacted, will prohibit private schools from arbitrarily increasing fees and is expected to directly impact over 1,600 private schools in the capital. It will take effect retroactively from April 1, 2025, following the President's assent. This means parents who were compelled to pay steep fees earlier this academic year may be eligible for relief. Sood added that the ordinance will be sent to the Lieutenant Governor, who will forward it to the President of India for approval. 'This is a historic day for Delhi's middle-class families,' said Sood. 'For years, under the previous AAP government, parents were burdened by unchecked fee hikes. The BJP government is now taking a decisive step to end this injustice.' He also highlighted that this is the first major education-related legislative initiative by a BJP-led government in Delhi in nearly three decades. Framing the move as part of the broader vision of 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas,' Sood emphasized the government's commitment to transparent and citizen-centric enacted, the ordinance will serve as a regulatory framework for Delhi's 1,677 private schools, ensuring that fee hikes are justified, accountable, and in line with parents' expectations.
NDTV
2 days ago
- Politics
- NDTV
After Protests, Delhi Clears Ordinance to Regulate Private School Fees
After an uproar and protests over arbitrary fee hikes by private schools, the Delhi government has approved a key ordinance to regulate this area and bring in greater transparency. The cabinet cleared the Delhi School Education (Transparency in Fixation and Regulation of Fees) Ordinance, 2025 during its meeting on Tuesday. Officials said the ordinance lays out a structured framework for overseeing how private schools fix their fees and addresses long-standing complaints from parents about arbitrary hikes and lack of clarity in fee structures. The ordinance proposes the formation of school-level fee regulation committees, district-level appellate bodies, and a state-level revision committee to manage disputes and appeals - a first-of-its-kind three-tier mechanism in Delhi. The BJP-led government had initially planned to introduce this reform in the second part of the Delhi Assembly's budget session, which was supposed to be held on May 13-14 and was deferred. After today's cabinet approval, the ordinance will be sent to Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena. Once approved, it will come into effect immediately and remain in force until a bill is passed in the Assembly. The ordinance prohibits schools from penalising students for non-payment of fees, including removing them from rolls, withholding exam results, or publicly humiliating them. Officials said the move is expected to benefit students and parents across 1,677 private schools in Delhi, ensuring that educational institutions operate within a framework of fairness, inclusion, and transparency. Parent groups have pointed out that while some students have been removed from school rolls, others have not been allowed access to classes or removed from school communication channels due to unresolved fee issues. In certain cases, results were also withheld, leading to emotional distress.
