In a landmark move to curb arbitrary fee hikes, the Delhi government has brought all 1,700 private schools in the capital under a new regulatory framework, handing parents unprecedented authority in deciding school fee structures.

Education Minister Ashish Sood, announcing the reform at a “Parents’ Town Hall” in Janakpuri on August 15, said the Delhi School Education (Transparency in Fixation and Regulation of Fees) Bill, 2025, would make fee systems “transparent, accountable, and participatory.”

Until now, only about 300 schools were governed under decades-old 1973 rules. “With this law, every private school in Delhi will come under fee regulation. Parents will no longer be silent sufferers,” Sood said.

The legislation mandates school-level committees — comprising parents, teachers, school management, and government representatives — to scrutinize and approve fee proposals.

Parents will hold veto power over hikes they find unjustified, while district-level panels will review all decisions by July 30. Final approvals must be issued by September, with appellate committees stepping in if deadlines are missed.

To enforce compliance, the law prescribes stringent penalties: schools raising fees without sanction face fines between ₹1 lakh and ₹10 lakh, which will double if excess charges are not refunded.

Framing the law as a safeguard against “commercialization of education,” Sood said the move was necessary because successive governments had failed to build a transparent mechanism, leaving families vulnerable. “Many parents chose private schools due to gaps in government institutions. With this law, we are ensuring fairness and accountability,” he added.

By extending fee regulation to all private schools, Delhi has become one of the first cities in the country to implement a comprehensive oversight model—one that not only standardizes fees but also empowers parents with a decisive voice in school administration.