2 weeks ago
Telangana orders private schools to disclose 2026-27 fees; disputes persist
The government of the Indian state Telangana told private schools to publicly show how much money they charge students for the 2026-27 school year.
The schools must put their fees on notice boards and websites and also send the information to the government's own portal.
But the school groups say the portal has technical problems, so they cannot upload their fees on time.
Parents are happy the fees will be made public, but they say that is not enough.
Parents want a law that stops schools from making fees much more expensive every year, and no such law exists yet.
A plan for this law was given to the government in January 2025, but it has not been approved.
Parents also want to be part of the committee that decides how much schools charge.
One parent said her child's nursery charges around two lakh rupees for only a few hours of classes a day.
School groups say most private schools are budget schools that are not hiking fees unfairly, and they want fewer rules for schools that charge less than fifty thousand rupees.
Parents hope there will be a solution by the next academic year.
Telangana's Department of School Education ordered private unaided schools to disclose class-wise fees for 2026-27 on notice boards, websites and the DSE portal through a circular dated August 7.
School managements' association TRSMA welcomed the move but said technical glitches in the State portal delayed uploads, with society-name-based registration causing trouble for some schools.
Parents' association HSPA said the disclosure still leaves annual fee increases without a statutory ceiling and complained that fees are fixed without involving parents' committees.
The Telangana Education Commission's draft Bill to regulate private school and junior college fees, submitted to the government on January 24, 2025, remains pending in the Cabinet.
HSPA filed a public interest litigation in 2022 over steep fee increases and the absence of State legislation, while the DSE also sought CA-certified audited accounts for 2023-24 and 2024-25 by July 30.
- Who
- Telangana's Department of School Education, private unaided schools, school managements (TRSMA) and parents' groups such as the Hyderabad Schools Parents' Association (HSPA).
- What
- Private unaided schools were ordered to disclose their class-wise fees for 2026-27 and the records used to fix them, amid disputes over portal glitches and the lack of a statutory fee ceiling.
- Where
- Telangana, India, with parents' groups active in Hyderabad.
- When
- The circular was dated August 7, covering fees for 2026-27; the draft fee regulation Bill was submitted on January 24, 2025, and a PIL was filed in 2022.
- Why
- To increase fee transparency and address complaints of steep fee increases in the absence of state legislation regulating school fees.
Parents' groups (HSPA)
School managements (TRSMA)
Statutory fee ceiling
Parents' groups (HSPA)
Disclosure alone is not enough; annual fee increases still have no statutory ceiling, and no one can say who is approving fee hikes without involving the parents' committee.
School managements (TRSMA)
The move will show that about 90 per cent of private schools are budget schools not hiking fees arbitrarily, and it makes it convenient to check corporate schools charging lakhs.
Fee fixation process
Parents' groups (HSPA)
Schools should justify expenses such as teacher costs, and parents should be part of the body deciding fees; one parent said her child's school had no PTA or SMC.
School managements (TRSMA)
Schools charging less than ₹50,000 should face fewer compliance requirements and be allowed to fix fees through their governing bodies, which already include parent representatives under existing instructions.
Regulation route
Parents' groups (HSPA)
HSPA wants state legislation or guidelines to control fee increases and filed a PIL in 2022 over steep hikes and the absence of such regulation.
School managements (TRSMA)
Existing rules are workable; the main problem is the technical glitches in the department's website, which the technical team expects to correct within a couple of days.
Key facts
- State
- Telangana
- Directive
- DSE circular dated August 7 requiring class-wise fee disclosure for 2026-27
- Coverage
- Private unaided schools
- Draft Bill
- Telangana Private Schools and Junior Colleges Fee Regulatory and Monitoring Commission Draft Bill, 2025
- Draft Bill status
- Stuck in the Cabinet, according to the TEC
- Draft Bill submitted
- January 24, 2025
- Parent complaint cited
- Nursery fee of around ₹2 lakh for roughly 3-3.5 hours of classes
- TRSMA request
- Fewer compliance requirements for schools charging less than ₹50,000
Quotes
Sadula Madhusudhan
President of the Telangana Recognised School Managements Association (TRSMA) and head of two private schools.
“We welcome the move. This will show that 90 per cent of private schools, which are budget schools, are not hiking fees arbitrarily and will make it convenient to check those corporate schools that are charging lakhs.”
deccanchronicle.com
“That will not help. They will simply display the fee: ₹2 lakh this year and ₹3 lakh next year. But who is approving that fee? Who is deciding that fee without involving the parents’ committee?”
deccanchronicle.com
Sources
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