On Friday, the Delhi Assembly passed the Delhi School Education (Transparency in Fixation and Regulation of Fees) Bill, 2025, a legislation aimed at achieving greater transparency and accountability in the way private unaided schools in the capital fix and regulate their fee structures.
The Bill, tabled earlier this week by Education Minister Ashish Sood in the Monsoon session, evoked a heated four-hour debate in the House before it was passed with a majority vote. The legislation will now be put up for approval by Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena.
The session saw the active presence of members from both sides of the aisle, as 41 BJP legislators and 17 of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) attended. While AAP brought eight amendments to the Bill, all were eventually voted down during the process.
"The 52-year-long 'vanvas' of the parents in Delhi has ended today. For the first time after 1973, there is a Government in Delhi which had the courage to do justice to all parents in Delhi in a transparent manner and provide them relief...The Bill has been passed today after a detailed discussion...," said Gupta, as reported by news agency ANI.
It provides for a three-level grievance redressal system, fines of up to ₹10 lakh for noncompliance, and involves parental involvement in the fee fixation process.
Three committees have been established by the legislation to enforce and monitor compliance with the new fee regulation framework: the School Level Fee Regulation Committee, the District Fee Appellate Committee, and a Revision Committee at the top level.
No school can charge fees above what has been authorised under the act. The government added that the structure is aimed at providing accountability while engaging all stakeholders, including teachers, parents, and school management representatives.
