Delhi Cabinet approves bill to regulate school fee complaints

New Delhi

On Tuesday, the Delhi Cabinet approved the Delhi School Education Transparency in Fixation and Regulation of Fees Bill, 2025, addressing the issue of arbitrary fee hikes by private schools. The bill, aimed at bringing relief to students and parents, applies to 1,677 private schools in the city. Chief Minister Rekha Gupta explained that the government acted quickly due to growing concerns over fee increases.

She highlighted that previous attempts to regulate fees, like Section 17(3) of the Delhi School Education Act, 1973, were ineffective. This new bill introduces a three-tier committee system to oversee fee regulation. At the school level, a committee will include the Directorate of Education (DOE) nominee, parents, and school representatives. If unresolved, the issue escalates to a district committee and, if still unresolved, to a state-level committee. Parents can escalate cases directly to the district committee if 15% of students support it.

Education Minister Ashish Sood emphasized that the bill aims for transparency and proper regulation. Schools found violating the bill could face fines from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 10 lakh.

The move follows protests from parents regarding recent fee hikes, with the government pledging to take strict action against violators. CM Gupta had earlier warned that schools could not threaten expulsion or impose arbitrary fee hikes. The bill will be passed in the Vidhan Sabha soon, completing the legal framework for fee regulation.