Atishi slams govt over Bill to regulate fee in schools

Atishi, Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly, on Wednesday hit out at the BJP-led Delhi Government over its recently approved ‘Delhi School Education (Transparency in Fixation and Regulation of Fees) Bill, 2025’.

She criticised the process behind the legislation as “opaque” and demanded urgent relief for parents facing steep fee hike in the ongoing academic year.

In a letter to Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, Atishi said while the Bill promises to ensure transparency in school fee regulation, the government itself had not followed any transparent or consultative process while drafting it. She pointed out that no draft had been shared publicly and no stakeholder meetings were held. “It is ironic that a Bill promising a transparent process has itself been drafted in an utterly non-transparent manner,” she wrote.

Atishi raised concerns over the Delhi Government’s decision to implement the new law from the 2026-27 academic year, asking what relief would be given to parents who are currently facing arbitrary fee hike in 2025-26.

“Does that mean the government has granted private schools a freehand to impose arbitrary hikes this year?” she questioned.

The AAP leader claimed that several private schools across the city had increased their fees by 30-80 per cent for the current academic year and introduced new charges for facilities like air-conditioning, swimming and extra activities. She alleged that parents were also being forced to buy overpriced books and uniforms from designated shops.

“Students have been debarred from classes and parents forced to protest in extreme heat,” she noted.

Calling the situation “unprecedented,” Atishi urged the Delhi Government to act immediately. She proposed four measures – an immediate order to stop fee hike and additional charges, direction to refund any excess amount collected, freeze on any fee increase until the law comes into effect and placing the draft Bill in the public domain for feedback before it is tabled in the Assembly.

“If the BJP Government truly has honest intentions behind the Bill, it must first order private schools to roll back the arbitrary hike immediately,” Atishi said. She warned that unless relief is provided for the current academic year, the proposed law would amount to nothing more than a “mere eyewash.”

Delhi