Why Delhi’s new private school fee law won’t apply in 2025-26 — and what it means for parents

In the notification, the government explained that this step was necessary because the Act could not be implemented as originally envisaged for 2025-26.

The law had required schools to constitute School-Level Fee Regulation Committees (SLFRCs) by July 15 of an academic year, but this was impossible in the current cycle since the Act itself came into force on December 10, 2025, after fees for the year had already been fixed.

The “Removal of Difficulties” order, the government said, was issued to address this timing mismatch and to give effect to the law in a workable manner.

What does the notification say

Under this, school fees for 2025-26 are effectively frozen. Parents have been assured that there will be no fee hike in the current session, with schools being allowed to charge only what they were already collecting as of April 1, 2025.

The notification clearly states that “till the fee is fixed for the next block of three years… the schools shall not charge any fees over and above the fee already being charged w.e.f. 01.04.2025”. In simple terms, no fresh fee hike is permitted during the current academic year.

The notification also addresses cases where schools may already have raised fees. It says that “any exorbitant fee charged by schools for the academic year 2025-26 shall be regulated and dealt with in accordance with law,” subject to the final outcome of cases pending before the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court. This means that fee hikes introduced during the year are not automatically protected and may be examined later.

Delhi Education Minister Ashish Sood told The Indian Express that the new order was “most beneficial for parents”, as it fast-tracks the formation of SLFRCs not to revise current fees, but to safeguard parents’ interests in the coming years. He said the law provides for school fees to be fixed in advance for blocks of three academic years, which would spare parents repeated uncertainty.

“This will prevent schools from arbitrarily charging exorbitant amounts,” Sood said, adding that the decision was comprehensive and extended safeguards for parents in cases where unjustified fee hikes are imposed.

How the transition will work

The February 1 notification sets out a clear timeline for what happens next. Within 10 days of the notification, every private school must constitute a SLFRC, even though its decisions will not affect fees for 2025-26.

Once the committee is formed, school managements have 14 days to submit proposed fee structures — not for the current year, but for the next three academic years starting from 2026–27.

At the same time, the government has given itself 30 days to set up district-level fee appellate committees, which parents can approach if they disagree with the fees approved at the school level.

The order also deals with what happens in the gap between fee cycles. It states that once a three-year fee block ends, schools cannot raise fees beyond the level fixed for the last year of that block until fees for the next block are formally approved.

If schools collect any fee during this interim period, that amount must be adjusted against the fee finally fixed for the next block.

In effect, the order prevents schools from using the gap between two fee cycles to impose interim fee hikes.

What has changed from December

When the Act was notified in December last year, it appeared that the new fee regulation system would take effect immediately, even though schools had already fixed their fees in March-April 2025.

This prompted the SC to question the government’s “rushed implementation” of the law earlier this year, when it was hearing a batch of petitions moved by private schools.

What it means going forward

According to Delhi-based education activist Shikha Sharma Bagga, parental safeguards remain critical during the transition period. “This is the peak period when schools withhold admit cards,” she said, stressing the need for immediate protection for parents.

When asked about parental safeguards, Sood reiterated that the SLFRCs would examine fee-related disputes, which, he said, would extend protection to parents. He added that issues relating to previous fee hikes would continue to be addressed through the courts, as provided for in the order.