Punjab government has approved a major ordinance to regulate fee hikes by private schools across state and the new rules aim to prevent arbitrary fee increases and provide relief to students and parents and the ordinance has been sent to Governor for approval and will come into force after receiving assent.
Here are five biggest decisions announced by government:
1. Private schools can increase fees by only 5% a year
The biggest change is annual fee cap and under new ordinance, unaided private schools will not be allowed to increase their total fees by more than 5% in a single academic year and earlier schools could increase fees by up to 8% but the government said many institutions were raising fees beyond that limit leading to repeated complaints from parents. The 5% limit will apply to overall fee charged by school, giving parents greater predictability in education expenses.
2. The 5% limit includes all mandatory charges
The government has clarified that new rule is not limited to tuition fees and mandatory charges such as building funds, development funds and annual charges will also be counted while calculating total fee increase which means schools cannot keep tuition fees low while significantly increasing other compulsory charges and according to government total increase in these mandatory fees cannot exceed 5% without official approval.
3. Schools wanting a higher fee hike must face a government audit
If a school wants to increase fees by more than 5% it cannot do so on its own and the institution must apply in advance and provide a detailed reason such as construction of a new building or addition of new facilities. A committee consisting of Divisional Commissioner, two District Education Officers (DEOs) and a financial expert will examine the request and before any decision is taken the school will undergo a financial audit. The committee will decide whether the requested fee hike is justified based on the audit report and supporting documents.
4. Excess fees collected in last 36 months may have to be refunded
Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains has stated that once the ordinance comes into effect schools that collected fees with an increase of more than 15% during preceding 36 months will be required to refund excess amount. Punjab government has said it will monitor this process to ensure compliance.
5. Heavy fines & cancellation of recognition for violations
The ordinance introduces strict penalties for schools that fail to follow the new rules and primary schools will face a fine of ₹50,000 to ₹5 lakh and repeated violations can lead to cancellation of school's recognition or registration.
The new rules will apply to all unaided private schools in Punjab including those affiliated with PSEB, CBSE, ICSE and other education boards and Punjab government says the ordinance is expected to benefit more than 32 lakh students and their parents by bringing greater transparency and limiting annual fee increases. Once Governor approves the ordinance all covered private schools will be required to follow new regulations.
