Minister Sood introduces Bill to regulate school fee

Delhi Education Minister Ashish Sood on Monday introduced the Delhi School Education (Transparency in Fixation and Regulation of Fees) Act, 2025, during the monsoon session of the Delhi Assembly today.

The Bill outlines a structured mechanism for determining the fee of 1,677 private and government-aided schools in the city.

It comes in the wake of widespread protests by parents over arbitrary fee hike at the start of the current academic session in April.

“Education is not a thing to be sold but a sacred duty which we must fulfill for the progress and prosperity of our motherland,” Delhi Education Minister Ashish Sood said while presenting the Bill.

This Bill has been brought to stop the commercialisation of education. “We are bringing this Bill to take action against those mafias who are selling education,” he added.

“Today, I have come here with a permanent solution to the problems faced by millions of parents and children in Delhi, and to a legacy issue that has been ignored for decades.”

“This Bill not only creates a transparent and accountable system, but also safeguards the interests of children, parents and schools — all stakeholders,” Sood mentioned.

Under the legislation, a ‘fee fixation committee’ will be constituted in every school, comprising parents, teachers and representatives from the administration.

The committee will examine the school’s proposed fee structure, which will then be forwarded to the designated government authority for approval. In addition, district and state-level appeal and monitoring committees will be established to promptly address complaints and irregularities.

Fee will be regulated based on 18 parameters, including school leadership, infrastructure quality, academic outcomes and financial requirements.

The aim is to allow only genuinely needy schools to increase fee and that too within reasonable limits. Importantly, schools will be permitted to hike fee only once every three years and only with valid justification.

The Bill directly involves parents in the fee determination process, granting them the right to review the school’s expenditure rationale and budget. In case of discrepancies, they may raise objections through the committee.

Any school increasing fee without approval will face penalties ranging from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 10 lakh. Repeated violations may result in cancellation of the school’s recognition. Furthermore, schools will be prohibited from withholding a pupil’s education or transfer certificate over a fee dispute.

The Bill also aims to regulate ancillary charges such as those for transport, uniforms and textbooks, providing families with relief from sudden financial burdens.

Key Highlights

• This Bill applies to all private unaided recognised schools in Delhi.
• Every school must submit its proposed fee for three years in advance; revision is permitted only once in three years.
• There will be a three-tier regulation and appeal committee system — at the school, district, and state levels.
• All schools must publicly disclose financial records and proposed fees.
• Unlawful fee hike will attract fines between Rs 1 lakh and 10 lakh. Repeated offenses will double or triple the penalty.
• In case of expelling or humiliating a student, a fine of Rs 50,000 per student will be collected. Repeated violations will result in cancellation of the school's recognition or even government takeover.
• If a dispute is pending, the school can only collect fee at the previous year's rate.