Delhi Education Minister Ashish Sood Launches “Parents’ Town Hall,” Assures Strict Action Against Arbitrary School Fees

New Delhi: Delhi Education Minister Ashish Sood on Friday held a large-scale dialogue programme titled “Parents’ Town Hall” in Janakpuri Assembly, where he announced that all 1,700 private schools in Delhi will now come under fee regulation through the newly passed Delhi School Education (Transparency in Fixation and Regulation of Fees) Act, 2025.

Sood explained that due to a loophole in the 1973 law, only 300 schools had been subject to fee regulation, leaving the majority outside the ambit of government monitoring. “With the new law, every single private school will now come under the regulation process. The timelines are also fixed – the committee will decide by July 15, the district-level decision by July 30, and the final verdict by September. If no decision comes within 45 days, the matter will automatically move to the appellate committee,” he said.

Nearly 200 parents participated in the interaction, asking pointed questions about the new law, its implementation, and their role in ensuring fairness. They also shared concerns about hidden charges, arbitrary hikes, and financial stress due to private schools.

Responding to them, Sood said, “No child in Delhi will be deprived of education due to financial reasons. Private schools are necessary, but so are transparency and accountability. The era of arbitrary fee hikes is over.”

The Minister clarified that the new law empowers parents directly by giving them representation in the fee determination process and even veto power in case of unjustified hikes. He added that fines ranging from ₹1 lakh to ₹10 lakh will be imposed on schools violating the law, and if they fail to refund excess charges, double the penalty will be levied. The Director of Education will now have powers equivalent to an SDM to ensure swift and uniform action.

Taking a swipe at the previous AAP-led government, Sood remarked, “Those who claimed to have launched an ‘education revolution’ never created any transparent system for parents. Instead, they ran liquor scams while misleading people through flashy advertisements. Our government has built this law after consulting parents and experts, to curb commercialisation of education and to protect the dreams of Delhi’s children.”

Sood also emphasised that if government schools had better facilities, parents would not have been compelled to pay ₹10,000 per month in private schools. The new law, he said, ensures that all stakeholders – parents, teachers, students, non-teaching staff, school management, and government officials – will be part of the fee regulation process, ending the monopoly of school owners.