'Parents are not ATMs': Delhi cracks down on fee hikes in schools - Here's what the new 'Education Transparency' bill means

Delhi’s Cabinet has given the green light to a new draft bill aimed at controlling how private and government schools set their fees, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta announced on Tuesday (April 29).

Gupta said that the Delhi School Education Transparency in Fixation and Regulation of Fees Bill, 2025 had been cleared in response to rising panic among parents and complaints of students being mistreated over fee disputes.

“There was panic among parents and alleged harassment of students in the name of fee hike,” Gupta said during a press briefing, as reported by PTI.

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No previous rules to stop fee hikes, says CM

Gupta criticised earlier governments for failing to act. “The previous governments in Delhi made no provision to prevent fee hike. There was no guideline to help government prevent fee hike by private schools,” she said.

The announcement comes just weeks after large groups of parents held protests outside the Directorate of Education (DoE), demanding that schools reverse sudden fee increases.

Action already underway against schools

In response to the unrest, the DoE announced on 16 April that it had started proceedings against certain unaided private schools found to be raising fees without approval. Penalties could include stripping schools of recognition or even taking over their management.

Delhi’s education minister, Ashish Sood, provided further details about the bill, explaining that it would undergo review across 18 key points before being fully enforced.

“The bill will be presented and passed soon. Parents, teachers, and management will be regulating the fees, we will be reviewing it on 18 provisions, and implementing it. The fees will be hiked in three years. Schools violating it will be taken over,” PTI quoted him as saying.

He added that a three-tier committee system would be introduced to oversee and regulate future fee increases.

Parents: ‘We’re not ATMs’

Parents across the city have voiced strong opposition to what they say are unjustified and sudden hikes in school charges. Placards during protests read “Stop fee hike, parents are not ATMs” and “Education is the right of every child.”