The Punjab Governor, Governor Gulab Chand Kataria has signed The Punjab Regulation of Fee of Unaided Education Institutions (Amendment) Ordinance, 2026, clearing the way for new rules aimed at regulating fee hikes in private unaided schools across the state and according to an official communication issued by the Governor's Secretariat at Lok Bhavan, Chandigarh, the ordinance was signed by the Governor on July 9, 2026, the signed copy was sent to the Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister and the Department of School Education through a memo dated July 10, 2026, for further action.
The amendment has been brought to change the existing law that regulates fees charged by unaided educational institutions in Punjab anda after the Governor's approval, the Punjab government said the ordinance has been introduced to protect children and parents from what it described as "unreasonable fee increases" by private schools.
According to the government, once the ordinance comes into effect, private unaided schools will not be allowed to increase their fees by more than 5% in a year on their own and any fee increase beyond the permitted limit will have to follow the process laid down under the law.
The government said the amendment is intended to reduce the financial burden on families and bring greater transparency to the fee structure of private schools and in a statement issued after the Governor's approval, the Punjab government thanked the Governor for approving what it called a major decision in the interest of students and parents, it said the amendment is aimed at ending arbitrary fee hikes by private schools.
The government also said education should not become a business and that it remains committed to protecting the interests of common people, it added that the ordinance has been introduced to ensure that parents are not forced to bear an excessive financial burden due to frequent fee increases.
Punjab already has a law called the Punjab Regulation of Fee of Unaided Educational Institutions Act, which was enacted to regulate the fees charged by private unaided schools and the Act also provides for a mechanism to examine disputes related to school fees and seeks to make the fee system more transparent.
However, complaints from parents regarding annual fee hikes and additional charges by some private schools have continued in recent years, parent associations in different parts of Punjab have repeatedly demanded stricter regulation of school fees and action against arbitrary increases.
The new amendment ordinance is intended to strengthen the existing legal framework by placing a clear limit on annual fee hikes by private unaided schools and an ordinance is a law issued by the Governor when the Punjab Legislative Assembly is not in session and immediate legislative action is considered necessary, such an ordinance has the same force as a law passed by the Assembly but must later be placed before the legislature for approval within the prescribed constitutional time limit.
With the Governor's signature now in place, the Department of School Education is expected to take the necessary steps for implementing the provisions of the amended ordinance and the Punjab government has said the move is focused on protecting students and parents while ensuring that private schools follow a regulated and transparent fee system, the implementation of the ordinance is expected to directly affect private unaided schools across Punjab and provide relief to families concerned about rising education costs.
