There is news of great relief for the parents of Delhi. Parents who have been struggling with uncontrolled fee hike in private schools for years are now going to get legal protection. The Delhi government has formally implemented a new law made with the aim of controlling the fee system of private schools, due to which the process of fixing fees will no longer be arbitrary but will be within the limits of the rules.

Law implemented after LG’s approval

Nearly four months after it was passed by the Delhi Assembly, the Delhi School Education (Transparency in Fee Determination and Regulation) Act, 2025 has received the approval of Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena. With this, this law has become effective in the entire capital region and the responsibility of its implementation has been handed over to the Education Department.

Government investigation will be done before deciding the fees

Now private schools will have to disclose their complete financial position before increasing fees. The Education Department will examine the expenditure, income and fee proposals of the schools and they will be approved only if they are in accordance with the rules. Every process related to fees, from investigation to monitoring, will now run under the fixed structure.

Education is not business- Ashish Sood

Describing this law as a major reform in the education sector, Education Minister Ashish Sood said that this issue was pending for decades, but the present government has taken concrete steps in a short time. He clearly said, “Education cannot be made a source of profit and the government will ensure that no child has to suffer due to financial reasons.”

Immediate action on parents’ complaints

The government has also clarified that if any school collects fees bypassing the rules, parents can complain directly. Provision has been made for prompt action on such complaints, so that parents do not have to make repeated trips to schools.

Complete ban on capitation fees

Under the new law, capitation fees or any kind of hidden collection has been completely banned. Schools will now be able to charge fees only for those facilities which the student actually avails. All user-based charges will be determined on the principle of no-profit, no-loss.

Schools will have to maintain separate financial records

Private schools will now have to maintain separate accounts for each item and also prepare complete records of their assets. The money taken from parents cannot be transferred directly to any trust or society. If there is excess amount left at the end of the year, it will either have to be returned or adjusted in the next fee.

A committee will be formed in every school to decide fees.

According to the law, the same rules will apply to all private schools, whether they fall in the minority category or are built on government land or not. A fee regulation committee will be formed in every school, which will include the school management, a representative of the education department and five parents selected through lottery. This committee can reduce or approve the fees, but will not have the right to increase them. The fee once decided cannot be changed for three years.

Trying to regain the trust of parents!

The government believes that this law will increase the accountability of schools and strengthen parents’ trust in the education system. This is being considered an important step towards resolving the long standing problem of dissatisfaction regarding fees.

Delhi private schools fee: The Department of Education has taken a tough stand on the increase in the fees being done by arbitrary private schools in Delhi. The department has clarified that the fees of private schools are controlled under the Delhi School Education Act and Rules, 1973 (DSEAR, 1973) and the regulatory role of the directorate has also been recognized in many important court decisions on it.

The Education Department has said that some private schools have been increasing unfair and excessive fees for the last several years, due to which the economic burden is increasing on middle and lower income groups. The problem became more serious after Kovid, when many schools increased the annual fees from 25% to 30%.

According to the department, in the last 5 to 8 years, there were also complaints from parents that students of 10th and 12th grade were not given admit cards in the name of illegal outstanding fees. Complaints have also been received about some private schools threatening to cut the names of the students for not filling the illegally increased fees in this session.

Along with this, the department has formed high level teams under the leadership of District Magistrates to monitor the complaints of fees and in the same order, on the basis of complaints of parents in DPS Dwarka yesterday, an inquiry was done under the leadership of the District Magistrate.

The Education Department has taken several steps to solve this problem:

1. High level inspections have been started keeping an eye on complaints of fees hike. Recently, investigation was conducted under the leadership of District Magistrate in DPS Dwarka.
2. The recognition of schools on violation of rules can be suspended, canceled or withdrawn. The management of the school can also be taken under itself if needed.
3. Special accounting investigation of the accounts of such schools will also be conducted by a team of senior officers.
4. The process of admission of EWS and DG category students has been facilitated. A nodal officer has also been appointed to solve the problems of books and uniforms.
5. Schools have been instructed not to be forced to buy books or uniforms from a fixed seller. The design of the uniform cannot be changed before three years.
6. Efforts are being made to hear early in cases related to fees hike.

The Directorate of Education has made it clear that strict action will be taken against the schools that increase the fees and illegal fees. The department has said that no compromise will be made with the educational future of students and education will not be allowed to become a medium of commercial benefit.

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