Telangana government receives draft bill to regulate private school fees

Hyderabad, January 25: The Telangana Education Commission has submitted a draft of the Telangana Private Unaided School Fee Regulatory and Monitoring Commission Bill, 2025, to the state government. The draft was handed over to Dr. Yogita Rana, Secretary of the Education Department, by Commission Chairman Akunuri Murali and members Professor P.L. Vishweshwar Rao, Dr. Charakonda Venkatesh, and Jyotsna Shiva Reddy.
The proposed bill aims to establish a regulatory commission for private unaided schools, led by a former Supreme Court or High Court judge, and comprising senior educators, professors, chartered accountants, and management representatives. District-level fee regulation committees, headed by collectors, are also recommended. The Commission suggests enacting legislation rather than issuing orders that may not hold up in court.
The draft proposes setting fees based on factors such as the Consumer Price Index, with a three-year lock-in period. It recommends considering school infrastructure, income, expenses, labs, playgrounds, and other facilities to determine nominal fees. Similar to the Admission and Fee Regulatory Committee for professional programs, a minimum fee structure is suggested. After consulting stakeholders, the Commission categorized private schools into five groups: international, corporate, private, private budget, and rural schools.
The recommendations include mandatory disclosure of fee details and infrastructure information on school websites, prohibiting compulsory purchases of stationery, uniforms, textbooks, and notebooks within school premises. The Commission also urges the government to monitor learning outcomes, especially in private schools.
The state government is considering introducing this legislation in the upcoming budget session. Professor P.L. Vishweshwar Rao noted that the government intends to regulate private school fees and may enact the law in the next budget session.