The Punjab cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann approved an ordinance capping annual fee increases of unaided private schools at 5%.
Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains announced that schools with cumulative fee hikes exceeding 15% over the last three years must refund the excess to parents.
Any annual fee hike above the 5% threshold must be justified before a regulatory committee comprising district, education, and finance officials.
The Punjab cabinet approved a draft proposal on Monday, June 22, 2026, to cap the annual fee increase of unaided schools at 5%.
Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann led the meeting in Chandigarh with the state fast-tracking the measure. Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema announced the approval of an ordinance that will take effect as soon as Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria grants his assent.
These measures could very well be linked to the upcoming assembly elections in the state which are slated for next year.
Refunds And Regulatory Scrutiny
Strict penalties await non-compliant schools. Institutions with arbitrary cumulative hikes exceeding 15% over the past three years must refund the excess to parents, Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains announced.
The state government is actively seizing records of these institutions for detailed scrutiny, Bains added.
Any fee hike above 5% must be justified before a regulatory committee. The panel comprises officials from the district administration, education department, and finance department.
Relief For Industrial Units
Also in the cabinet meeting ministers cleared relief for closed businesses. The cabinet approved the release of pending fiscal incentives to 99 closed industrial units.
These units were established under state industrial policies spanning 1978, 1987, 1989, 1992, 1996, and 2003.
Previous governments denied these incentives. This denial forced the shut-down unit owners to seek relief in various courts, Cheema said.
New Administrative Posts Approved
The cabinet also created new local administrative posts as ministers approved the creation of additional deputy commissioner (ADC) posts in Hoshiarpur district, covering the Dasuya, Mukerian, Gardhiwala, Talwara, and Hajipur tehsils, and in Kapurthala district for the Phagwara tehsil.
Cheema said that residents raised the issue during Mann’s Lok Milni public outreach programme in Mukerian. Locals highlighted the long travel distances required for routine administrative work, prompting the government to improve public convenience.
