Private schools in Delhi to form fee fixation committees by Jan 10: Education Minister Sood
New Delhi (PTI): All schools in the national capital will have to constitute school-level fee fixation committees by January 10, under a new law aimed at ensuring transparency in fee determination, Delhi Education Minister Ashish Sood said on Wednesday.
Addressing a press conference, Sood said the Delhi School Education (Transparency in Fixation and Regulation of Fees) Act, 2025, has been enacted under the leadership of Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and will function alongside the existing the Delhi School Education Act and Rules of 1973.
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He said the Directorate of Education (DoE) has issued detailed directions for the formation of School Level Fee Fixation Committees (SLFFC) and District Level Fee Appellate Committees (DLFAC) after the framing of rules under the new legislation. These provisions will be binding on schools starting from the 2025-26 academic session.
As per the guidelines, every school will have to form an 11-member SLFFC comprising representatives of the school management, the principal, teachers and parents. The committee will examine and submit proposals related to school fees, including fee hikes already implemented by some schools in the current academic year, he said.
Sood said schools will have to submit their fee proposals to the committee by January 25. The SLFFC is required to take a decision within 30 days. If it fails to do so, the matter will automatically be referred to the District Level Fee Appellate Committee for review.
The minister said the new law aims to ensure fairness, accountability and equal opportunities for students, while preventing what he described as "arbitrary fee hikes," a long-standing concern among parents.
He added that the education department has laid down norms for disclosures and compliance related to the 2025-26 fee proposals. Details regarding a state-level committee will be notified separately.
Sood described the move as a significant step in Delhi's education reforms, saying the government remains committed to the emotional, physical, financial, and mental well-being of children.
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BJP will hold protest till money under Gruha Lakshmi scheme is disbursed: Ashoka
Bengaluru (PTI): BJP leader R Ashoka on Wednesday said that the party would launch a protest against the non-disbursal of money under Gruha Lakshmi scheme for the months of February and March this year.
He also said that the party would request Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot not to give his assent to the Karnataka Hate Speech and Hate Crimes (Prevention) Bill, which was cleared by both the houses – Legislative Assembly and Council, during the recently concluded winter session in Belagavi.
Speaking to reporters here, the Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly, said there were high expectations that the government would announce big schemes for the North Karnataka during the Belagavi session.
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However, instead of announcing packages for North Karnataka, funds were curtailed, he said.
"Gruha Lakshmi scheme money to the tune of Rs 5,000 crore for the months of February and March could not be given to the beneficiaries. The government had dodged it. The finance department had covered it up. Our question is whether there was no money in the previous fiscal and why the government hid it," Ashoka said.
Gruha Lakshmi scheme is one of the five pre-poll guarantees of the state government. It promises Rs 2,000 per month to the women head of the families belonging to the Economically Weaker Section (EWS).
Ashoka said if the government had money then it would have disbursed it.
"We want to know whether the government wanted to cheat people by not giving money or it did not have money,' the BJP leader said.
He added that the BJP waited for three days for Woman and Child Development Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar to respond during the assembly session as 1.26 crore families were anxiously waiting for the money.
"This is a big scam. Even today, the minister has not uttered a word on the Gruha Lakshmi money for the months of February and March. She has stopped coming to Bengaluru. Our question is whether that was part of the budget. If yes, then where has the money gone?" he sought to know.
Ashoka said, "The BJP will hold protests till the money is disbursed to the beneficiaries. We obtained details of eight to 10 districts. When we approached other districts, the ministers threatened the district authorities not to share details."
Regarding the Hate Speech and Hate Crimes (Prevention) Bill, he said it was passed in a hurry without any discussion in both the Houses.
"This was an important bill because it takes away people’s freedom of expression. The government, which brought the Emergency taking away the personal liberties of people and jailing opposition members, journalists and judges, is once again resorting to the same attempt," Ashoka alleged. He was apparently referring to Emergency imposed by the Congress government led by Indira Gandhi in 1975.
According to him, no one can draw cartoons or expose scams once the bill becomes a law.
"There is nothing to feel good about this bill. People will not be able to air their woes on civic problems, rising crime and corruption. It is very clear that the government is targeting the opposition in order to control it," he alleged.
The BJP leader said the party will approach Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot on his return from Madhya Pradesh and explain to him how this law is going to affect people and create problems for freedom of expression.
"We will persuade the Governor not to sign this bill. This is the Congress party’s law to put the opposition in jail. We will tell him that there is nothing in it to benefit society," he added.
