In a major relief for lakhs of students and parents across Punjab, Punjab Cabinet led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has approved an ordinance to regulate fee increases in private educational institutions and the ordinance limits annual fee hike in private and unaided schools and colleges to a maximum of 5% and the decision was taken during a Cabinet meeting held on Sunday. The government said the move aims to stop arbitrary fee hikes and bring greater transparency and accountability to education sector.
Addressing a joint press conference after meeting Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema and Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains said the ordinance has been introduced to protect parents and students from unreasonable increases in educational expenses.
According to Cabinet decision no private or unaided educational institution in Punjab will be allowed to increase its fees by more than 5% in a year and the government said the limit will help create a fair and regulated fee structure while reducing financial burden on families. Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said that previous governments had failed to properly regulate private educational institutions allowing them to increase fees under different heads such as tuition charges and development funds and government believes new ordinance will prevent such practices and ensure that fee revisions remain within a reasonable limit.
As Punjab Legislative Assembly is not currently in session Cabinet approved proposal through an ordinance so that it can be implemented without waiting for next Assembly session and the ordinance has been forwarded to Governor for approval. After notification its provisions will come into force across Punjab and the government has also said that the ordinance will later be introduced in Punjab Assembly and converted into a law during next legislative session.
Punjab government said this decision is intended to curb commercialization of education and provide relief to families struggling with rising educational costs and according to government the ordinance will ensure a balanced fee structure while protecting students' access to education and it added that the reform is expected to benefit thousands of private schools, colleges and educational institutions across the state and provide financial relief to lakhs of parents.
Cabinet approval follows announcements made earlier by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann regarding stricter regulation of private school fees and the Chief Minister had said that annual fee increases would be limited to 5% and that the rule would apply to mandatory charges collected by schools. The government had also announced that schools which increased fees by more than 15% during last three years would be required to refund the excess amount collected from parents and in addition private schools would not be allowed to force parents to buy books, uniforms or other school-related items from specific shops or vendors. Parents would be free to purchase these items from any shop of their choice and along with this government further stated that complaints received by District Education Officer offices regarding fee hikes would be examined and action would be taken if any violations were found.
Punjab government has said that new ordinance is part of a broader effort to strengthen regulation of private educational institutions and make fee structures more transparent and officials have maintained that the measure will improve accountability, reduce arbitrary fee hikes and provide long-term relief to parents facing rising education expenses and once approved by Governor and notified the ordinance will become effective across Punjab and will later be placed before Assembly to be enacted into law.
