Chandigarh, June 5 -- A day after chief minister Bhagwant Mann announced sweeping reforms to curb arbitrary fee hikes by private schools, the Punjab government on Thursday kick-started the process to draft the legislation.

School education minister Harjot Singh Bains has written to the school education secretary, directing immediate drafting of legislation that will regulate private school fees, enforce transparency and accountability.

The proposed legislation will cap annual fee hikes at 5% and require schools that have increased fees beyond the prescribed 15% threshold over the last three years to refund the excess amount collected from parents.

The move marks a decisive step by the Punjab government to curb profiteering in the educa...