"Education is not business, it is a right": Delhi Education Minister Sood after govt brings School Fee Regulation Act into force

New Delhi [India], December 13 (ANI): The Education Minister of Delhi, Ashish Sood, announced that the Delhi School Education (Transparency in Fixation and Regulation of Fees) Act, 2025, and the corresponding Rules, 2025, came into effect.
On Friday, the Education Department will begin implementing all procedures specified under the Act or Rules, including scrutiny of schools' Fee proposals, permissions, reporting, and monitoring.
Criticising the previous government, Sood said that earlier governments had ignored this critical issue for 27 years, but our government implemented this historic reform within days. He said that in a remarkably short span of time, we enacted a strong law and set up a new benchmark for administrative efficiency and good governance in Delhi.
As per the release, Minister Sood reiterated that "Education is not a business, it is a right", and affirmed the government's commitment to ensuring that every child in Delhi receives quality education with honesty, transparency, and fairness.
He said that this Act will not only address the concerns of parents but will also strengthen public trust in the Education system. The government's objective is to establish Delhi as a model for education reform across the country. Sood appealed to parents and guardians to actively support this new framework and help maintain transparency.
Minister Sood stated that this historic Act and its Rules have been enacted to end arbitrary fee hike practices of private schools, empower parents, and ensure transparency and accountability in the education system. The government's clear intention is to put a complete stop to unjustified and arbitrary fee hikes. Schools will be required to present their fee structures, expenditures, and financial needs transparently.
The Education Minister further said that, with the implementation of this new system, parents will no longer face persistent fee-related grievances, and effective school monitoring will become possible. He also said that for us, the interests of parents are paramount. This transformative step will not only enhance parental trust but also increase the accountability of schools.
He added that the new Act lays down several provisions to ensure a safe, transparent, and reliable framework for parents. These include mandatory participation of parents in the process of fee fixation and revision, compulsory public disclosure by schools of their financial statements, expenditure details, fund utilisation, and fee structure, and the establishment of a clear and robust grievance-redressal mechanism. The Act also provides for immediate action on parental complaints related to any unauthorised, illegal, or sudden fee hike, and mandates a detailed procedure along with prior government approval before any increase in school fees. (ANI)