Chandigarh, August 10, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The Punjab Vidhan Sabha on Monday unanimously passed by voice vote the Punjab Regulation of Fees of Un-Aided Educational Institutions (Amendment) Bill, 2026, aimed at curbing arbitrary fee hikes and bringing greater transparency to fee collection by private schools across the state.
Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann said the legislation would prevent private schools from increasing fees by more than 5 per cent in a new academic session. Any increase beyond the prescribed limit would require prior approval from the regulatory authority.
The Bill also provides that every amount collected from parents under any head—including tuition, transportation, building funds and miscellaneous charges—will be treated as fee for regulatory purposes.
Mann said the government would conduct forensic audits of private schools to determine the total fees collected through different modes and identify excess collections. Schools that have increased fees by more than 15 per cent in aggregate over the past three years will be required to refund the excess amount collected from parents.
The Chief Minister said violations would attract a fine of ₹50,000 for the first offence and ₹1 lakh for the second. A third violation could lead to cancellation of the school’s affiliation, along with other action under the law.
Winding up the debate, Mann said the legislation was intended to protect students and parents from excessive financial burdens and prevent education from becoming a profit-driven commercial activity.
He said more than 32 lakh students were enrolled in nearly 7,800 private schools across Punjab and asserted that the new framework would provide them and their families stronger safeguards against arbitrary fee increases.
The Bill also provides for District Regulatory Committees headed by Deputy Commissioners to examine and regulate proposals for fee hikes.
Mann criticised the previous Congress government over the charging of transport fees during the Covid-19 pandemic, when schools were closed and transport services were not operating. He said such practices would not be allowed under his government’s policy.
The Chief Minister said the government would not allow an “education mafia” to flourish in Punjab and maintained that education should remain a public good rather than a commercial enterprise.
Mann also cited the state’s performance in competitive examinations, saying 882 Punjab students qualified for NEET in 2026 compared with 80 in 2021.
He said the government had also worked to improve the quality of education in government schools and claimed that Punjab had surpassed Kerala in the education sector.
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