The Bhagwant Mann government has taken a historic step with the aim of ending the arbitrary increase in fees of private schools in Punjab and providing relief to lakhs of families. The government has imposed a limit of 5 percent on annual fee increase. Schools that have breached the annual limit during the last three years are mandated to refund the excess fees collected and may ultimately face de-recognition of the school, besides provision of stringent penalties.
The proposed law against arbitrary fee increase by private schools is the strictest law in the country. It will be presented in the upcoming assembly session. This will be applicable to all private schools of Punjab. This limit of five percent will apply not only to tuition fees but also to all mandatory expenses and funds charged by schools.
Hundreds of calls were received from worried parents – Mann
Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann Said that after the tragic incident in Amritsar, in the last 24 hours I have received hundreds of calls from parents regarding arbitrary fee hike by private schools. Keeping in mind the future of our children and the huge problems being faced by the parents, your government has taken a very important and strict decision. No private school in Punjab will now be allowed to increase its annual fees by more than five percent.
The Chief Minister said that the fee structure of private unaided schools is currently governed by the ‘Punjab Regulation of Fees of Unaided Educational Institutions Act, 2016’, which was amended in 2019, but previous governments had failed to implement this law effectively, thereby allowing schools to openly pass on the burden of fee hike to parents.
Fees determined through disclosure mechanism
The Chief Minister said the 2019 amendment had allowed schools to increase fees beyond the prescribed limit through a ‘disclosure mechanism’, under which it was mandatory for schools to publicly display the proposed fee increase on school notice boards, school websites and the website of the school education department before the admission process begins. He further said, although the law mandated transparency regarding fee hikes, in practice these rules were rarely enforced. As a result, parents continued to face the burden of unreasonable and exorbitant fees.
The new fee regulation structure will affect
The proposed ordinance has been drafted on the basis of the ‘Punjab Regulation of Fees of Unaided Educational Institutions Act, 2016’, which regulates the fee structure in private unaided schools across Punjab. Although the Act allows schools to set their own fees, it clearly prohibits profiteering and charging capitation fees. Under the original law, the annual fee increase could not exceed 8 percent of the previous year’s fees.
However, amendments made in 2019 allowed schools to increase fees beyond this limit through a disclosure mechanism, which required the proposed fee increase to be displayed on school notice boards, school websites and the website of the school education department before the admission process begins. According to the Punjab government, in reality these rules were rarely enforced, resulting in uncontrolled fee hikes in many institutions.
Provision to impose fine on violation
Schools violating the law will face a phased fine system. The fine for the first violation can range from Rs 30,000 for primary schools to Rs 1 lakh for senior secondary schools. Repeated violations will attract higher fines, which will range from Rs 60,000 to Rs 2 lakh. In case of third violation, the authorities can cancel the recognition or affiliation of the school apart from imposing financial penalty. The regulatory body also has the power to order refund of excess fees collected from parents.
The proposed ordinance aims to strictly enforce these rules, strengthen monitoring of private schools, bring greater transparency in fee determination and provide a strong mechanism to challenge arbitrary fee hikes. Its objective is to ensure that educational institutions function without any profiteering.
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