India, Feb. 28 -- The Directorate of Education (DoE) on Friday defended its decision to advance the constitution of school level fee regulation committees (SLFRCs) and told the Delhi high court that the timelines prescribed under the Delhi School Education (Transparency in Fixation and Regulation of Fees) Act, 2025 are not "sacrosanct" and do not form part of the Act's basic structure.

The SLFRCs are to be constituted by individual schools to fix the fee for three academic terms, beginning 2026-27.

On February 1, the DoE issued a notification directing all schools to constitute SLFRCs by February 10, instead of July 15, as provided under the Act. The notification required schools to form the committees within 10 days and submit details ...