The Punjab Cabinet on Monday cleared an ordinance to limit annual fee hikes by private schools to 5 per cent per annum. Speaking to reporters after the Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said private schools would now be allowed to increase fees by only up to 5 per cent in a year.
He said the ordinance would now be sent to the Governor for approval.
Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains said the government has also decided that if any school increased its fee by more than 15 per cent over the past three years, the amount charged above that limit would have to be refunded.
Bains said if a school wants to raise fees by more than 5 per cent, it will have to seek approval from a committee headed by the divisional commissioner. The school will also have to explain the reasons behind the proposed hike.
He said the committee will have the authority to either approve or reject such a request.
On June 3, Chief Minister Mann had announced that the state would cap annual school fee hikes at 5 per cent. He had also clarified that the 5 per cent cap would apply not only to tuition fees but to all compulsory charges and funds collected by schools.
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