Chandigarh, June 6: Private schools in Punjab must roll back recent tuition increases and refund parents for charges exceeding a 5 percent annual threshold under a new state directive.
Arvind Kejriwal, the national convenor of the Aam Aadmi Party, welcomed the measure on Friday, noting that Punjab is the first state to mandate direct financial refunds from private academies for multi-year overcharges. The upcoming law covers all operational fees, preventing institutions from using secondary categories like library or development charges to bypass the annual 5 percent cap.
“The AAP Government in Punjab has taken a very important decision,” Kejriwal declared. “Two days ago, CM Bhagwant Singh Mann announced that a new law will soon be introduced under which no private school will be allowed to increase fees by more than 5 per cent in a year.”
The regulation includes a retroactive clause targeting sharp fee spikes from the prior three seasons. If a school raised its total costs significantly above the allowed threshold during that timeframe, it must return the calculated difference to the affected households.
The party chief affirmed that the initiative follows regulatory models previously tested in Delhi to manage rising household expenses. He stated that while many private schools operate fairly, the law establishes necessary boundaries for institutions imposing unjustified financial burdens, creating a balanced approach alongside ongoing improvements to the state’s public school system.
