Private School Fee Regulation Act to be implemented from 2026-27

According to the Delhi government, the Private School Fee Regulation Act to be implemented from 2026-27 academic year, rather than with the current 2025–2026 academic year, on October 3, 2021. The Supreme Court had been considering the petitions filed by private school associations to the Delhi High Court to challenge the Delhi School Education (Transparency in the Fixation and Regulation of Fees) Act, 2025. 

Under the Delhi School Education (Transparency in the Fixation and Regulation of Fees) Bill, 2025, all 1,700 private schools in Delhi will be subject to government approval prior to increasing their tuition.

On January 19, 2023, the Hon'ble Court had said that implementing the rule for this year was "not feasible," and had requested the Delhi Government to consider deferring the implementation of the regulation until April 2026. 

The Hon'ble Court stated today that they were only concerned with how quickly the state was attempting to implement it, and since the state has declared that it will be implemented with the next academic session, they have now dismissed the case. Private schools will have the right to appeal to the Delhi High Court on the ruling.

The Act lays down clear guidelines for fee increases in private schools:

· Schools cannot raise fees without government approval

· Penalties for unauthorised fee hikes range from Rs. 1 lakh to Rs. 5 lakh for first-time offences

· Repeat violations can attract fines of up to Rs. 10 lakh

· If excess fees are not refunded within the stipulated deadline, penalties double after 20 days, triple after 40 days, and continue to escalate with further delay

· Repeat offenders may lose the right to propose future fee hikes and could also be barred from holding school management positions