Quality education for every child in Delhi: CM Rekha Gupta assures parents

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Saturday assured the parents of Delhi that their children will now receive quality education in the national capital.

She said students will study in Delhi’s private schools, secure a bright future for themselves, and rise to leadership positions to serve the nation.

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The Delhi Chief Minister also emphasised that private schools are a necessity in the national capital, but her government has ensured provisions that will allow even children from underprivileged backgrounds to study there and build a better life.

Gupta said on Friday, the Delhi Assembly passed her government’s historic Delhi School Education (Fee Determination and Transparency in Regulation) Bill, 2025 by majority vote. This Bill will lay a new foundation of transparency, justice, and accountability in Delhi’s education system and deliver a decisive blow to the arbitrary practices of private schools that have persisted for years.

She said private schools have become a reality in Delhi because previous governments failed to build enough quality government schools.

“The rise in the number of private schools in Delhi is not an overnight development, but the result of the Opposition’s prolonged failure to provide quality education in public schools. Previous administrations did not provide good education, forcing parents to turn towards private institutions,” the Delhi Chief Minister said.

“Our sole aim,” she said, “is to ensure that children from every section of society can study in these schools without parents being burdened by excessive fees.” The Bill, she added, has been drafted after detailed consultations with education experts and parents.

The Delhi Chief Minister further revealed that there are approximately 1,733 private schools in Delhi, of which nearly 300 were given land at concessional rates by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA). She clarified that the land in these cases was not allotted by the Delhi Government. As per lease conditions, if a school violates the terms, the power to take action rests with the DDA. The Director of Education in Delhi can only write to the DDA but has no further authority. Under the new legislation, however, the Director of Education will be given powers equivalent to those of an SDM (Sub-Divisional Magistrate), enabling them to freeze school accounts and attach movable and immovable property. Importantly, the Bill’s provisions will cover not just the 300 DDA-allotted schools but all 1,733 private schools. Any school found implementing arbitrary fee structures will face strict action from the Delhi Government’s Education Department.

Reiterating the Bill’s main objectives, the Chief Minister said these are: transparency in fee determination, empowered parental participation, and a veto power for parents over fee hikes. No private school will now be able to increase fees at will. Schools will have to provide detailed justifications for fees based on location, facilities, expenditure, and quality of teaching. Without permission, any fee hike will attract a fine of Rs 1 lakh to Rs 10 lakh, which will double if there is a delay in refunding overcharged amounts.

“This Bill is a shield for the dreams of Delhi’s children,” she declared. “No one will be allowed to put a price on their aspirations. We will remove the shadow of profiteering from education and build a new Delhi that will be defined not by false slogans but by real change. And we will ensure that no child is deprived of education because of poverty.”