New Delhi, April 30 -- The Delhi Cabinet on Monday approved the draft of the Delhi School Education (Transparency in Fixation and Regulation of Fees) Bill 2025-a legislation that chief minister Rekha Gupta called a "bold and historic" attempt to rein in arbitrary fee hikes by private schools. The proposed law, a copy of which was accessed by HT, will be applicable to all 1,677 private unaided schools in Delhi and introduces three major reforms in the city's fee regulation regime. First, it envisages a three-tier fee regulation structure involving committees at the school, district, and state levels. The second major reform introduces stiff penalties for non-compliance. Schools found violating the provisions-such as raising fees without approval-can be fined between Rs.1 lakh and Rs.10 lakh. Repeat offenders could lose government recognition altogether. "For too long, private schools raised fees at will. This bill ends that. No one will be allowed to act arbitrarily anymore," the chief minister said. The third reform spells out the parameters that must be considered while determining fees. These include the school's location, quality of infrastructure, academic performance, and need for funds....