A month after the Delhi government implemented the Delhi School Education (Transparency in Fixation and Regulation of Fees) Act, 2025, private schools have moved to the Delhi High Court to challenge the law. The schools say the law clashes with older laws, interferes with their independence, favours parents too much and puts unnecessary controls on how schools handle fees, according to a report by The Indian Express.
Private schools argue that their fees are already regulated under the Delhi School Education Act, 1973 (DSEAR), and its rules. They say the new law passed by the Delhi Assembly contradicts this older law. Schools point out that the new law changes who has the power to decide fees – taking it away from school management and giving it mainly to parents and teachers, something they say goes against the earlier law.
Difference between old and new committees
Schools say that under DSEAR, a 21-member School Management Committee (13 from management, 1 parent, 2 teachers, and government officials) used to decide fees. But the new law shifts this power to a committee dominated by parents (5 parents, 3 teachers, 1 management representative).
The second issue raised by schools is about non-payment of fees. Under DSEAR, schools are allowed to strike off a student’s name if the fees are not paid. But the new law does not allow this at all and even threatens schools with penalties if they take any strict action against students, as per the report.
Schools claim violation of their constitutional rights
Schools argue that this new law interferes too much in how private schools operate and violates the “fundamental and constitutional rights of the management of private schools”.
They also say the new law gives too much control to parents, who are users of the service, not the ones running it. As the petition says, “a consumer of a service cannot be the decision-maker, that too, in overwhelming precedence to the wisdom and decision-making power of the service-provider itself.”
They further argue that the criteria for deciding fees in the new law are incomplete and weaker. They claim the law does not follow guidelines earlier set by the Supreme Court and DSEAR, especially since the new law introduces penalties for violations. Schools say their rights and autonomy mean they should not need approval from the Directorate of Education (DOE) before raising fees for a new academic year, but the new law removes this freedom, the report said.