The Punjab State Regulation of Fee of Unaided Educational Institutions Rules, 2017 caps the annual fee hike by private schools at 8% of the previous year’s fee, says Punjab finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal.
Punjab government paved the way for rationalisation of fees in private schools with the cabinet giving its nod to the Punjab State Regulation of Fee of Unaided Educational Institutions Rules, 2017 on 19th April 2017.
Under the new rules, annual fee hike by private unaided schools will be capped at 8% of the previous year’s fee, finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal later told members of the media. All other funds charged by the schools will also be covered by these rules, he added.
This move is aimed at curbing excessive fees in private schools across the state, an official spokesperson said after a cabinet meeting here that was chaired by chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh.
The Punjab initiative comes even as Gujarat has already passed a bill limiting private school fees. The annual fee structure underlined in the new law for primary, secondary and higher-secondary schools is Rs15,000, Rs25,000 and Rs27,000 respectively. Other states like Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh are also contemplating similar rules to regulate private school fees.
The HRD ministry too is looking at the Gujarat bill, however it is too early to say that this law will also be adopted at a national level since a lot of checks and balances have be evaluted and planned.
Image courtesy – Hindustan Times