Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s announcement to cap the increase in private school fees at five per cent per annum has triggered debate over patchy implementation of the Punjab Regulation of Fee of Unaided Educational Institutions Act, 2016 (amended in 2019), irrespective of the political party in power.The CM’s directive affects near 7,000 private schools affiliated with the CBSE, ICSE and PSEB.The recent suicide by a 17 year-old Amritsar girl after severe harassment by the school management over unpaid fees raises questions about poor implementation of the regulatory mechanism under the Act, including lack of awareness among the intended beneficiaries.Both the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had have been claiming credit for protecting parents from rising private school fees, while accusing each other of either weak implementation or arbitrary intervention. The Punjab Regulation of Fee of Unaided Educational Institutions Act, 2016, was brought by the Akali Government and amended in 2019 by the Congress government led by Captain Amarinder Singh.The AAP accuses the Congress of bringing an amendment to increase fee beyond 8 per cent. However, it was subject to approval from the district-level regulatory body headed by the concerned Deputy Commissioner.A senior government functionary said the District Education Officers (DEOs) are responsible for monitoring provisions of the Act. Any complaint is handled by a committee headed by concerned Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC). The act clearly says that any student’s whose father or earning member dies during their study years, the school shall not compel such a student to pay the fee till completion of their studies.After coming to power, the AAP government — under Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann — announced that private schools could not increase fees for the 2022-23 session and parents were free to buy books and uniforms from any shop. The government followed it up by ordering an investigation into 720 schools based on complaints by parents. Education Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer publicly warned of ‘severe consequences’ for violators.Education Minister Harjot Bains said, “We are bringing amendment in the Act to ensure strict implementation of the Act, including refund in case of over-charging of fee”.Dr Jagjit Singh, president of the Federation of Private Schools and Associations of Punjab, said that most of the private schools have been sticking to the eight per cent fee capping, except 15 private educational institutions in the metros that do not adhere to the government guidelines.He opined that the government should thick realistically for the self-financing educational institutions, as no relaxation of road tax for school buses or exemption from house tax was given. Even the electricity connection is commercial, he said.Parents allege that the district regulatory bodies, envisioned as the backbone of the 2019 law, continue to function unevenly. Parents still report extra charges for books, uniforms and transport, and grievance redressal is often delayed. The effectiveness of the regulatory mechanism on the ground, however, remains the missing.