India, July 30 -- The Delhi government has directed all private unaided schools to constitute School-Level Fee Regulation Committees (SLFRCs) for the current academic session under the Delhi School Education (Transparency in Fixation and Regulation of Fees) Act, 2025, aimed at curbing arbitrary fee hikes. The Directorate of Education (DoE) issued the circular on June 30, which was made public on Thursday. Under the new law, every private unaided school must form an SLFRC comprising representatives of the school management, the principal, three teachers, five parents and one government nominee. To ensure transparency, schools have been instructed to issue a seven-day public notice before conducting the draw of lots to select parent and teacher representatives. The process will be monitored by a government-appointed observer and video-recorded.
Education Minister Ashish Sood said education is a service to society and not a commercial enterprise, asserting that the government would not tolerate unjustified fee hikes or hidden charges that place an unfair burden on parents. He said the new framework would ensure that every fee charged by schools is properly justified. The DoE warned that schools attempting to bypass the rules would face stringent action. Following directions of the Delhi High Court, the DoE had earlier instructed schools to continue charging the same fees for the 2026-27 academic session as in the previous year until revised fee structures receive approval from the regulatory committees. Any excess amount collected during this period will be subject to the final outcome of court proceedings and will have to be refunded or adjusted. Once the committees are formed, schools must submit their proposed fee structures for the next three years, along with audited financial statements for the previous three years, by July 31.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.