Why some feel Delhi's bill to curb privatisation of education is problematic

Delhi Education Minister Ashish Sood on Monday, August 4, introduced the Delhi School Education (Transparency in Fixation and Regulation of Fees) Bill, 2025, in the state Assembly, claiming to curb “privatisation and commercialisation” of education.

However, the draft of the bill, which was kept under wraps for around four months, has sparked a sharp debate across political, educational, and parental circles.

The bill, which aims to regulate fee structures in private, aided, and unaided schools in the national capital, was introduced to address growing concerns over arbitrary fee hikes and coercive practices by school administrations.

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However, critics have pointed out that the bill does the opposite, giving all control to private schools with very little chance of redress.

One section of the bill, which has received unanimous approval, is the decision to penalise schools for levying fees by violating terms set in the legislation. However, the procedure to determine the fee remains the most contentious and controversial topic.

Three-tiered mechanism

At the heart of the bill is a three-tiered regulatory mechanism to review fee structures. This includes a school-level committee comprising the principal, a management representative, three teachers, and five parents selected by lottery—with quotas for women and SC/ST representation. It is overseen by an observer from the education directorate.

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Above it is the district appellate committee, chaired by the deputy director of education and including chartered accountants, school representatives and parent representatives.

The structure is topped by the revision committee, chaired by “an eminent person having made valuable contribution in the field of education”, the additional director of education, a chartered accountant, a controller of accounts, school representatives and parent representatives.

While the government argues that the structure ensures transparency and parental involvement, critics contend that the lottery system allows school managements to manipulate outcomes and that parent representation remains symbolic.

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For a bill that claims to regulate fees, it is interesting that there is not a single mention of a cap on the amount of fees that can be charged by a school. The bill also does not talk of an audit at any stage.

Opposition leader speaks on fees

“There is no mention of auditing private school accounts. Which means private schools can arbitrarily increase fees, citing imaginary expenses — and no one will be able to verify anything,” Delhi Assembly's Leader of Opposition Atishi of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said in a statement.

The bill also has several contentious clauses. The most serious among them is the requirement that at least 15 per cent of parents in a school or class have to agree to file a complaint regarding any fee issue formally.

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The bill defines an “aggrieved parents group” as “any group of parents of the students, not comprising less than 15 per cent of the total parents of the affected standard or school…”

Parents' body chief speaks

“Earlier, even if one parent wanted to complain, they were able to do so. By adding this clause, the government has made it nearly impossible for any complaint to be registered. In large schools of 3,000 students or so, it would mean mobilising 450 parents. This actually works in favour of private schools,” said Delhi Parents Association President Aparajita Gautam.

She said the bill also legitimises various kinds of fees charged arbitrarily by schools till now.

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“When there is a tuition fee already, they’ve also added ‘term fees’ (not to exceed more than one month’s tuition fee per term), laboratory fees, which were only charged to science students and higher secondary school students, and even physical education fees. Schools will now get a free hand to charge under these heads because it has been legitimised by the bill,” she said.

Parents have also pointed out issues with the constitution of the School Level Fee Regulatory Committee.

“Out of 10 members and one observer, the parent representation is of five from the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA), through a draw of lots. However, PTAs across schools are filled with pawns of the school management, and elections are hardly ever held properly for this body. As a result, there is going to be no real representation of parents,” said Mohit Arora, a parent whose children go to Salwan Public School, New Delhi.

It is a concern raised by the AAP as well. In a statement, party Chief Whip Sanjeev Jha said, “The fee-hike committee will be headed by the school management. They say there will be five parents, five school management representatives, and one government observer.

“Even if all five parents oppose a hike, the vote is tied, and everything depends on the government official. In other words, the BJP government is trying to institutionalise this protection through bureaucracy.”

10 factors to determine fees

The bill proposes 10 factors to determine the fees. This includes the location of the school, the infrastructure made available, and the education standard of the school, among others.

“How will the education standard of a school be measured? These things have been left vague. The bill also says that “the facilities provided and as mentioned in the prospectus or website of the school” will also be a factor. A school can write anything on its website or prospectus and charge fees. What is the mechanism to cross-check it?” Aparajita asked.

When it comes to penalties, the bill states that on the first violation, a school can be fined between Rs 1-5 lakh, which can triple or quadruple depending on non-compliance. However, parents are apprehensive that the money for the penalty could come from their pockets by charging students under various miscellaneous heads.

Committees too powerful?

One of the most dangerous aspects of the bill is the power granted to the three committees. The bill states that “no civil court shall have jurisdiction in respect of any matter in relation to which the School Level Fee Regulation, District Fee Appellate Committee(s), Revision Committee, or the Director of Education…to exercise any power and no injunction shall be granted by any civil court in respect of anything which is done or intended to be done by or under this Act”.

It also states that “no suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding shall lie against” the three committees and the directorate.

“This kind of power means that nothing can be challenged or questioned, and all matters that even manage to be raised will be quashed at the level of the schools. This sets a very dangerous precedent. This bill was touted to be for ending privatisation and commercialisation of education, but it’s exactly the opposite,” said Manoj Sharma, a lawyer who works on education.

The bill also says that for the academic year 2025-26, the fee being charged since April 1 this year, “shall be deemed to be the proposed fee” for this year.

“Private schools across Delhi have already hiked their fees for 2025–26, but this bill contains no provision to regulate those hikes,” said Atishi.

The AAP has said that it will oppose the bill in the Assembly. “We have two clear demands that we will raise in the Delhi Assembly. First, this bill must be sent to a Delhi Assembly Select Committee, which will consult parents, school staff, activists, and teachers. The bill should only be finalised based on their feedback,” it said in a statement.

“Our second demand is that until the bill is finalised, all school fees should be frozen at 2024–25 levels. No school should be allowed to raise fees beyond what they charged last year,” it added.

Neither Sood nor Delhi Education Director Veditha Reddy was available for comment.