Chandigarh: Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria has given his assent to the Punjab Government’s ordinance aimed at regulating fee hikes by unaided private schools, making the new fee control mechanism legally enforceable across the state.
Under the ordinance, no unaided private school will be allowed to increase its annual fee by more than 5% without prior approval from the designated regulatory authority.
Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann thanked the Governor for approving The Punjab Regulation of Fee of Unaided Education Institutions (Amendment) Ordinance, 2026. In a post on X, Mann said the legislation would curb arbitrary fee hikes and ensure that education does not become a commercial enterprise at the expense of parents.
The ordinance was approved by the state Cabinet earlier under the leadership of the Chief Minister. The move follows Mann’s announcement on June 3 and came in the wake of the death of a 17-year-old student in Amritsar, whose family had alleged pressure over school fees.
Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains said schools seeking to raise fees beyond the 5% limit will be required to obtain advance approval from the regulatory body, which will conduct a financial audit before granting permission.
He added that records of schools found to have collected excess fees over the past three years will be examined, and parents will be refunded any excess amount recovered. The state government will introduce a Bill in the upcoming Assembly session to replace the ordinance with a permanent law.
