Excess fee charged by private school to be refunded, won't allow 'vidya mafia': Punjab CM

Chandigarh, Jul 13 (PTI) Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday said private schools that raised fees by more than 5 per cent annually over the past three years will have to refund the excess amount, asserting that schools under the AAP government will not be allowed to become "profit-making factories". Mann was addressing a press conference here during which he informed that Governor Gulab Chand Kataria has given his approval to an ordinance on capping fee hikes by private schools in the state. The chief minister said a regulatory committee headed by Deputy Commissioners will scrutinise fee hikes. "Those private schools that have increased fees by more than 15 per cent over past three-year period will be required to refund the excess amount to parents. For example if a school increased fee by 25 per cent during past three years, then they will have to refund parents the excess 10 percent," he said. The private schools will not be allowed to take escape route that they will adjust the fees instead of refunding, Mann clarified. The Punjab Cabinet had last month approved an ordinance on capping fee hikes by private schools at 5 per cent per annum. The ordinance was then sent to the governor for his nod. The 5 per cent ceiling will cover not only the tuition fees but also all mandatory charges and funds collected by private schools, the CM said, adding that his government is committed to stop hefty and multiple kinds of fees charged by private schools. Thanking the governor for giving his approval to "Punjab Regulation of Fee of Un-aided Educational Institutions (Amendment) Ordinance, 2026", Mann said it will come into force with immediate effect from Monday. We will not allow "Vidhya Mafia" (education mafia) to be created. We have already tackled various kinds of mafia, we dont want one more, the chief minister added. This is a historic decision taken by our government and Punjab will become the first state where private schools will refund excess fees charged, he said. Mann said education is everyone's right and added "we will not allow private schools to become factories for profit only". Elaborating on the crackdown, the chief minister said that an audit will be conducted and all fees, whether charged as tuition, transport or any other fee, will be treated as combined for the purpose of fee hike in a year which should not exceed five per cent. A definition of what constitutes fees has been given in the ordinance, he stated. It is not that a school may say that they have increased just the tuition fee, that excuse wont work, he said. Details of fee records from the past four years will have to be given within ten days. Once all details are there then they will have to be uploaded to the Education Department's portal and the exercise will have to be completed within a month after that. If schools dont adhere, then fines ranging between Rs 50,000 and Rs 1 lakh will be imposed and later affiliation will be cancelled, Mann said. Parents complain that private schools effect hefty fee hikes and sometimes even withhold roll numbers and certificates over pending fees, he said. Mann said last month a 17-year-old girl student in Amritsar committed suicide after allegedly facing mental harassment by her school over pending dues. After this, he received calls from many parents over charging of arbitrary fee hike by private schools. Regrettably, one has to say that education has been made a business and many parents approach me complaining steep fee hike by the private schools, he said. Mann said he had assured parents that his government is committed to ensure that the common man is not unnecessarily financially burdened. Some parents told me the private schools charge various kinds of fee. Some in the name of building fee, vocational tour, swimming pool fee and different types of fee, he said. Mann said the Punjab government decision will cover 7,800 private schools in the state, directly benefiting over 32 lakh students and their parents. Private schools will no longer be permitted to raise fees by more than 5 per cent per annum, he said. When asked that many private schools may be affiliated with other Boards, Mann said that this does not mean that the Punjab government cannot take action if violations are there. It is not that they will become open loot centres and the Punjab government cannot even cancel their affiliation, Mann said, adding that the regulatory committee will scrutinise fee hikes. When asked if the schools may move court against the state's decision, Mann quipped, then the same option is open to us. Last month, a statement of the Chief Minister's Office stated, "In order to regularise unnecessary and unreasonable increase in fee by private non-aided schools, the Punjab Cabinet gave nod to bring Punjab Regulation of Fee of Un-aided Educational Institutions (Amendment) Ordinance, 2026." The ordinance was brought by amending the Punjab Regulation of Fee of Unaided Educational Institutions Act, 2016. The move was aimed to have an effective control over fee hikes, to provide protection to students and parents from arbitrary fee hikes, to ensure transparency and accountability in fee structure and to protect the interests of students and parents, the statement had said. PTI SUN NB NB