All private schools now under new fee regulation law, says Delhi education minister

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 on Friday.

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 of the Assembly, seeks to end arbitrary fee increases 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 Rs 1 lakh to Rs 10 lakh, with double penalties if excess charges are not refunded, he said, according to an official statement.

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Private schools fee regulation

The Act 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 setting school fees, it read. Sood said the new law closes a loophole in the 1973 rules, under which only 300 schools were covered for the 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 for private school fee control.

"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 Act, decisions on fee proposals must be made by school-level committees by July 15, 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.