Under the updated policy framework, annual institutional fee increments are strictly restricted to a five percent ceiling.

Punjab Government Announces Strict 5% Fee Cap on Private Schools

The Punjab government has decided to implement a strict legal framework during the upcoming assembly session to curb arbitrary fee hikes by private schools. Announcing the policy directive on Wednesday, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann emphasized that private educational institutions across the state will no longer be permitted to exploit families through unregulated financial demands.

Under the updated policy framework, annual institutional fee increments are strictly restricted to a five percent ceiling. The Chief Minister explicitly clarified that this institutional mandate applies globally across all categories of school charges, ensuring that regulations are not limited merely to basic tuition fees.

Furthermore, the state administration has introduced an aggressive retrospective compliance measure for accountability. Private schools that have cumulatively raised their fees beyond fifteen percent over the preceding three years will be legally mandated to return that additional financial surplus to the respective parents.

The upcoming legislation is being drafted as the most stringent consumer-centric education law in the country. To ensure absolute compliance, the department will impose heavy financial penalties on violators, while persistent non-compliance will lead to the immediate cancellation of a school’s administrative affiliation.

This decisive policy intervention follows a surge of direct complaints from frustrated parents regarding aggressive institutional coercion. Many families reported that private managements routinely threatened to withhold student roll numbers or crucial academic certificates if arbitrary, escalated fee structures were not instantly cleared.