New Delhi: The Delhi government has notified the Delhi School Education (Transparency in Fixation and Regulation of Fee) Act, 2025, bringing into effect a new framework for regulating fees in private schools.
The legislation was notified on Wednesday, four months after it was passed by the Assembly, following approval from Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena. The Act lays down detailed provisions on permissible fee heads, accounting practices and restrictions on
additional charges, while prohibiting capitation fees and any collection beyond what is approved under the law.
Schools will be required to disclose fee components clearly and maintain separate accounts for each category, the notification read. Under the Act, private unaided recognised schools will be allowed to levy only itemised fees under specific heads such as registration, admission charges, tuition fees, annual charges and development fees.
Registration fees have been capped at Rs 25, admission charges at Rs 200, and caution money at Rs 500, which will be refundable with interest. Development fees cannot exceed 10 per cent of the annual tuition fee.
The law also mandates that all user-based service charges must be collected strictly on a no-profit, no-loss basis and cannot be imposed on students who do not use the service.
Any fee not expressly permitted in the Act will be treated as an “unjustified fee demand”. Collection of capitation fee, direct or disguised, is strictly prohibited.
Schools must follow transparent accounting standards, maintain fixed asset registers and ensure proper provisioning for employee benefits. The transfer of any student-collected funds to another legal entity, including the school’s managing society or trust, has also been barred. Surplus funds must either be refunded or adjusted against future fees.
The Act was earlier introduced in the Delhi Assembly as the Delhi School Education (Transparency in Fixation and Regulation of Fees) Bill, 2025. The government had described it as a “historic” step aimed at ending arbitrary fee hikes and easing the burden on parents.
Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and Education Minister Ashish Sood had tabled the bill in September amid widespread complaints from parents over fee hike by several private schools at the start of the academic session.
“Today marks a golden day in Delhi’s education system. For the first time in 27 years, a historic bill will be introduced under the leadership of Chief Minister Rekha Gupta,” Sood had said ahead of its introduction.
The legislation applies uniformly to all private unaided schools, including minority institutions and those not built on government-allotted land. It also prohibits schools from taking punitive measures against students over unpaid or delayed fees, including withholding results, striking off names, or denying entry to classes.
A key feature of the Act is the annual School-Level Fee Regulation Committee, which each school must constitute by July 15 every year. The panel will include five parents selected through a draw of lots from the parent-teacher association, with mandatory representation of women, and members from Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and socially and educationally backward classes.
A representative from the Directorate of Education will also be part of the committee, while the chairperson will be from the school management.