NEW DELHI: A day after the Delhi government announced the approval of the draft Delhi School Education (Transparency in Fixation and Regulation of Fees) Bill, 2025, Leader of Opposition Atishi dismissed it as mere “eyewash,” claiming that its implementation is only planned for the next academic year.
The Delhi Cabinet, led by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, approved the draft Bill on Tuesday. Once tabled and passed in the Assembly, it will become law and introduce strict regulations to control arbitrary and excessive fee hikes in Delhi’s 1,677 private schools. The move is expected to bring significant relief to parents.
In her letter to the Chief Minister, Atishi questioned what immediate steps are being taken to address this year’s fee hikes. She urged the government to instruct schools to roll back any unjustified increases and additional charges for the current academic session. She criticised the lack of transparency in the Bill’s formulation, noting that no draft has been made public, nor has any consultative process been revealed. “So far, we only know what’s being reported in the media. There is no official document for stakeholders to review,” she wrote.
The LoP claimed that the Bill aims to regulate fee increases starting in the academic year 2026–27, Atishi questioned what actions are being taken over the excessive and arbitrary fee hikes by private schools this year. “It leaves the most important question unanswered: what happens to the fees already hiked by private schools this year? What will happen to all the parents who are facing these problems in the current academic year, 2025–26? Will they be forced to pay the arbitrary fees and charges introduced by schools in April 2025?” she asked in her letter.
Atishi wrote, “This unprecedented situation put thousands of children and their parents in extremely distressing situations. Students were debarred from classes if they did not pay the hiked fees, parents were seen protesting in extreme heat outside schools and even went to the court”.