Delhi Private School Can Not Hike Fees Without Permission: Minister Ashish Sood Introduces New Bill

Delhi Education Minister Ashish Sood introduced the "Delhi School Education (Fee Determination and Transparency in Regulation) Bill, 2025" in the Assembly, aiming to rein in arbitrary fee hikes by private schools. During the presentation, Sood declared, "Education is not a commodity to be sold," adding that the government intends to crack down on what he described as "mafias who are selling education for profit."

The proposed legislation, which received Cabinet approval on April 29, is designed to curb the commercialisation of education and bring greater transparency to school fee structures. The bill outlines strict penalties for non-compliance. For first-time violations, schools could be fined between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 5 lakh, while repeat offenders face penalties of Rs 2 lakh to Rs 10 lakh. If a school fails to refund excess fees within a designated timeframe, the fines will double after 20 days, triple after 40 days, and continue increasing every 20 days thereafter.

In cases of continued violations, school authorities could be disqualified from holding management roles or barred from submitting future fee hike proposals.

While the government claims the bill protects parents and prevents exploitation, it has sparked strong opposition from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Chief Minister Rekha Gupta had earlier said the bill aims to safeguard families from arbitrary fee demands by schools. However, AAP leaders like Atishi allege that the bill actually favours private institutions. They argue that if the bill truly served public interest, it should have been released for public scrutiny before being tabled.

As the bill moves forward in the Assembly, debates are expected to intensify. The legislation marks a significant shift in education policy in the capital, but its real impact will depend on how its provisions are implemented and enforced in the coming months.