Chandigarh, March 18, 2026(Yes Punjab News)
Member of Parliament Dr. Vikramjit Singh Sahney has called for urgent and time bound rationalisation of school fees across the country, warning that arbitrary and non transparent fee structures in private schools are pushing parents of middle class into severe financial distress.
Referring to the reply given by the Sh. Jayant Choudhry Minister of State for Education in Parliament on his question regarding regulation of fees in private educational institutions, he noted that while education is in the Concurrent List and fee regulation has been left to State Governments, there is still no uniform national framework to check excessive and recurring charges such as annual fees, readmission fees and hidden levies beyond tuition fees.
Dr. Sahney said that pre nursery play schools are charging exorbitant fees unaffordable for large section of society.
Dr. Sahney stated that the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009 guarantees free education to every child between 6 and 14 years and mandates that private unaided schools reserve at least 25% seats at entry level for children from weaker sections and disadvantaged groups, with a clear prohibition on capitation fee. Yet, recent studies and judicial observations show that this promise is not being fulfilled on the ground: a recent survey based NITI Aayog study has found that many private schools are not filling the full 25% quota, parents remain unaware of their rights, and procedural hurdles and delayed reimbursements are denying thousands of eligible children their lawful seats.
Dr. Sahney also said that even in 2026 the Supreme Court has had to direct all States and Union Territories to frame binding rules to enforce the 25% RTE quota in private schools, after cases where children from weaker sections were refused admission due to technicalities, exposing serious weaknesses in implementation despite clear statutory provisions.
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