3 days ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
All 1,700 private schools in city under new fee law: Ashish Sood
NEW DELHI: The Delhi government has brought all 1,700 private schools in the city under a new fee regulation law, with provisions for parental participation and veto power on fee hikes, Education Minister Ashish Sood said during an event with parents.
Speaking at a 'Parents' Town Hall' in Janakpuri, Sood said the Delhi School Education (Transparency in Fixation and Regulation of Fees) Bill, 2025, passed in the Monsoon Session, seeks to end arbitrary fee hikes and ensure transparency in the fee fixation process.
About 200 parents attended the interaction, where the minister explained key provisions of the law, including penalties for non-compliance. Schools that raise fees without government approval will face fines ranging from `1 lakh to `10 lakh, with double penalties if excess charges are not refunded, he said, according to an official statement.
The bill also grants the Director of Education powers similar to those of a sub-divisional magistrate to ensure uniform action against violations, it stated. Committees comprising parents, teachers, school management, and government representatives will be involved in deciding school fees, it added.
Sood said the new law closes a loophole in the 1973 rules, under which only 300 schools were covered by fee regulation. 'Now, all private schools in Delhi will come under the ambit of fee regulation,' he said.
The minister criticised previous governments for failing to establish a transparent system to regulate private school fees. 'Those who claimed to have brought an education revolution did not make real improvements in government schools,' he said, adding that many parents opted for private schools because of the poor state of public education facilities.
As per the bill, decisions on fee proposals must be made by school-level committees by July 15, by district-level committees by July 30, and finalised by September. If no decision is reached within 45 days, the matter will be referred to an appellate committee. Sood said the law was drafted after consultations with parents and education experts to curb the commercialisation of education and safeguard the interests of students.
However, under the banner of the United Voice of Parents Association, demonstrators expressed concern that the proposed legislation 'undermines existing safeguards and reduces transparency in the fee regulation process.'
According to the parents association, the draft law permits previously unapproved fees and introduces a requirement of 15 per cent parental support to lodge complaints, making it harder for parents to raise concerns.
