Chandigarh, July 14 -- Chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday announced that regulatory committees headed by deputy commissioners (DCs) will scrutinise private school fee across all districts. To ensure absolute compliance, the state government has directed all private schools to upload their complete fee records of the last four years onto a designated portal within the next 10 days. The strict administrative intervention follows the state government's recent legislative move to bring private school fees under a strict regulatory framework by promulgating the Punjab Regulation of Fees of Unaided Educational Institutions (Amendment) Ordinance, 2026. Under this new mandate, annual private school fee hikes have been legally capped at 5%, and institutions are required to refund parents in cases where cumulative fee increases have exceeded 15% over the last three years. The 5% ceiling will cover not only the tuition fees but also all mandatory charges and funds collected by private schools, the CM said, adding that his government is committed to stop hefty and multiple kinds of fees charged by private schools. Addressing a press conference, Mann said private schools will not be allowed to take escape routes that will adjust the fee instead of refunding, Mann clarified. Thanking the governor Gulab Chand Kataria for giving his approval to "Punjab Regulation of Fee of Un-aided Educational Institutions (Amendment) Ordinance, 2026", Mann said it will come into force with immediate effect from Monday. "We will not allow "vidhya mafia" (education mafia) to be created. We have already tackled various kinds of mafia, we dont want one more," the CM added. This is a historic decision taken by our government and Punjab will become the first state where private schools will refund excess fees charged, he said. Elaborating on the crackdown, the chief minister said that an audit will be conducted and all fees, whether charged as tuition, transport or any other fee, will be treated as combined for the purpose of fee hike in a year which should not exceed 5%. If schools don't adhere, then fines ranging between Rs.50,000 and Rs.1 lakh will be imposed and later affiliation will be cancelled, Mann said. Mann said the Punjab government decision will cover 7,800 private schools in the state, directly benefiting over 32 lakh students and their parents. When asked that many private schools may be affiliated with other boards, Mann said that this does not mean that the Punjab government cannot take action if violations are there. "It is not that they will become open loot centres and the Punjab government cannot even cancel their affiliation," Mann said. When asked if the schools may move court against the state's decision, the CM said: "then the same option is open to us". The Punjab government on Monday regularised the services of 516 daily wage workers from the state forest department. During an official event, chief minister Bhagwant Mann handed over regular appointment letters to the beneficiaries, while also announcing the restoration of long-pending promotions for 237 forest department officers and employees. Sharing the development on the micro-blogging platform X, the CM emphasised his administration's commitment to job security. "Securing the future of 516 daily wage employees who had been waiting for years, we handed over regular appointment letters to them. At the same time, the long-pending promotions of 237 employees have also been restored," Mann stated....