Private schools across Delhi face stricter rules regarding tuition hikes. Under the newly enacted Delhi School Education (Transparency in Fixation and Regulation of Fees) Act, 2025, schools are required to justify any proposed fee increase against 18 distinct parameters.
Education Minister Ashish Sood announced that the days of unchecked hikes are over; institutions must now prove to parents that any financial changes are strictly necessary and fully supported by audited financial records.
The 18 Parameters for Fee Adjustments
To legally raise fees, a school must demonstrate that the increase directly funds genuine institutional improvements. The 18 specific categories open to review include:
- Campus & Facilities: Infrastructure development, school buildings, maintenance and repairs, plus lighting and utilities.
- Student Environment: Safety measures, health and sanitation measures, and transportation facilities.
- Academics & Resources: Staff recruitment, salaries and benefits, classroom resources, laboratory equipment, library facilities, and digital learning tools.
- Activities & Wellness: Sports infrastructure and extracurricular activities.
- Operations & Growth: Administrative expenses, training and professional development, and other general institutional requirements.
New “School-Level” Oversight Committees
To enforce these rules, every private unaided school in Delhi must form a School-Level Fee Regulation Committee (SLFRC). These committees will serve as the primary line of accountability.
- The Structure: Each committee will consist of five parent representatives, three teacher representatives, and members of the school management.
- Fair Selection: To ensure transparency, parent and teacher representatives will be chosen via a public, video-recorded draw of lots, following a mandatory seven-day notice period.
- Diversity Mandate: The committee must include at least two women and ensure fair representation from Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), or socially and educationally backward classes.
Additionally, the Directorate of Education (DoE) has mandated the creation of annual Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs), which will act as the official pool from which parent committee members are drawn.
