The Punjab government has geared up to tighten its grip on private schools across the state. In a press conference held at the CM residence in Chandigarh on Wednesday, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann announced that private schools will no longer be able to increase fees arbitrarily.
Furthermore, schools will be barred from forcing parents to purchase books and school uniforms from specific designated shops. To enforce this, the state government is introducing a strict new law that caps the maximum annual fee hike by private schools at 5%.
Refund for Unjustified Hikes In a major relief to parents, CM Mann stated that schools that have increased their fees by more than 15% over the past three years will be legally bound to refund the excess amount to the parents.
New Legislation in Monsoon Session The Chief Minister announced that a strict law will be passed in the upcoming Monsoon Assembly session to enforce these rules. An ordinance regarding this will be issued in a day or two. This regulation will be universally applicable to all schools operating in Punjab, including national and international boards.
The new law will completely cancel the previous regulations introduced by the Captain Amarinder Singh government in 2019, which, according to CM Mann, gave school owners a free hand to hike fees unconditionally. The government will formally amend the ordinance of the Punjab Regulation of Fee of Unaided Educational Institutions Act, 2026.
Mandatory Annual Audits To ensure that schools cannot find loopholes in the new system, mandatory annual audits of all private schools will be conducted. The government is drafting a comprehensive policy based on the advice of experts from various fields. Additionally, all pending fee-hike complaints at the District Education Officer (DEO) offices will be investigated, and strict action will be taken against schools found guilty of violations.
Tragic Amritsar Incident Triggered Action This decisive move follows the tragic suicide of a talented 12th-grade girl in Amritsar, who took her own life due to alleged harassment and pressure from her school management over unpaid fees.
Expressing deep grief, CM Mann said the young girl became a victim of the "school mafia." He noted that over the past 24 hours, he received numerous calls from parents and students highlighting how schools mentally torture students over "No Dues" certificates, threatening to withhold roll numbers or degrees. The Chief Minister issued a stern warning that such humiliation and harassment by school managements will not be tolerated and will invite strict legal action.
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