Punjab Governor gave nod to ordinance on capping of fees by pvt schools: CM Mann

Chandigarh, Jul 13 (PTI) Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann here on Monday said Governor Gulab Chand Kataria has given his approval to an ordinance on capping fee hikes by private schools in the state. The Punjab Cabinet had last month approved an ordinance on capping fee hikes by private schools at 5 per cent per annum. Addressing a news conference here, Mann said his government is committed to stop hefty and multiple kinds of fees charged by private schools. Mann said the governor has given his approval to "The Punjab Regulation of Fee of Unaided Education Institutions (Amendment) Ordinance, 2026". We brought an ordinance in the cabinet which was sent to the governor. We thank him for giving his approval, the chief minister said. He said after the tragic incident in Amritsar, he received many calls from parents regarding arbitrary fee hikes by private schools. Last month, a 17-year-old girl student in Amritsar allegedly committed suicide after facing mental harassment by her school over pending dues. Regretably, 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 said that even during COVID-19 pandemic, the schools had charged transport fee. They 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. 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 said. The amendments aim to bring greater clarity in the definitions of fee, fee enhancement and cumulative fee enhancement, to place a cap of five percent on annual fee hike by Un-aided Schools and to provide for prior approval of the Regulatory Body for any fee hike beyond five percent. On June 3, Chief Minister Mann announced that the fee hike will be capped at 5 per cent per annum. Later, on June 22, the Punjab Cabinet approved ordinance on capping fee hikes by private schools at 5 per cent per annum. PTI SUN NB NB