CHANDIGARH, JUNE 4 — Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann announced on Wednesday that Punjab will implement the nation’s strictest regulatory policy against private school fee exploitation, establishing a firm 5% annual limit on all mandatory educational charges.
The directive addresses long-standing vulnerabilities within the Punjab Regulation of Fee of Unaided Educational Institutions Act, which previously allowed private academies to raise prices by up to 8% or bypass thresholds through online notices. The Chief Minister affirmed that any private school that raised its cumulative rates by more than 15% over the past three terms must immediately return those funds to the affected families.
“The Punjab Government has decided to put a cap of 5% on annual fee hikes so that no school can increase fees beyond this limit,” Mann declared during a press conference detailing the forthcoming Ordinance.
To ensure full compliance, the state is considering a proposal to empanel independent Chartered Accountants to conduct financial audits of private institutions. These audits will examine institutional ledgers, teacher salary distributions, infrastructure investments, and reserve accounts from the last three to five years to verify that earnings are not being diverted for commercial profit.
The district-level Regulatory Bodies, which include the District Education Officer and local administrative leaders, are legally mandated to evaluate parent complaints within 15 days and issue official rulings within 60 days. First-time offenders face penalties up to ₹1 lakh, which double for secondary infractions, leading to a complete shutdown of operations on the third offense.
“This legislation is intended to stop the exploitation of students and their families,” Mann maintained, noting that the measure will protect vulnerable and economically weaker segments of the population from institutional high-handedness.
