Chhattisgarh caps private school fee hikes at 8% — and goes after the book-uniform racket
Chhattisgarh's School Education Department on April 25 ordered every private school to keep annual fee hikes within 8%. Anything above needs district fee committee clearance. The same order banned tied-vendor purchases for books, uniforms and stationery.
On the morning of April 25, every district collector and District Education Officer in Chhattisgarh opened the school education department's order to find a single line that will reshape every private school's June admission cycle — annual fee hikes are now capped at 8%. Anything beyond that needs district fee committee clearance, in writing, before the school can ask a parent for it. By evening the same order had landed on every Chhattisgarh Private School Management Association WhatsApp group in the state.
What the order actually says
Issued under the Chhattisgarh Private School Fee Regulation Act, 2020, the order instructs district nodal principals and District Education Officers to monitor compliance. The 8% cap applies to every fee head — tuition, transport, lab, library — combined. Above that, schools must place a written proposal before the district fee committee and wait for clearance. The order also goes after the book-and-uniform racket: 'schools cannot create tied purchase arrangements or informal vendor lists' and 'cannot impose indirect pressure through circulars, verbal instructions or preferred vendor lists'. For Classes 1-8, only NCERT textbooks are permitted. For Classes 9-12, schools may continue with private publishers but cannot push parents toward a specific shop. Every private school must constitute an internal fee committee. Schools running student fees need to align the 2026-27 fee circular before the May session opens.
What this changes for your school
If you run a private school in Chhattisgarh, the next 30 days decide three things — your published 2026-27 fee circular, your vendor contracts for books and uniforms, and your internal fee committee constitution. Any fee head you raised above 8% without committee clearance is now exposed to disciplinary action under the Act. Pull your last three years of fee resolutions and your current vendor agreements before the district nodal principal's first compliance check. Publishing the new circular on your school website with the committee minutes attached is the cleanest defence.
What to watch next
CG's draft law giving parents a formal seat at the fee-hike table is moving through the state secretariat. Districts will publish nodal-principal lists by mid-May. Schools tracking compliance circulars this season — like CBSE's third Indian language mandate for Class 6 — should add the CG fee order to the same audit folder.
Source: Dainik Jagran English. Reference: Chhattisgarh Private School Fee Regulation Act, 2020.
Frequently asked
3 questionsDoes the 8% cap apply to all fee heads combined, or per head?
Combined. The order treats the school's total annual fee — tuition, transport, lab, library, computer fee — as the cap base. A 5% bump on tuition plus a 4% bump on transport puts you at 9% combined and triggers the district fee committee requirement. Schools must publish the combined per-head and total figures in the fee circular.
What does NCERT-only for Classes 1-8 mean for our existing book lists?
From session 2026-27, schools running on private publisher textbooks for Classes 1-8 must switch to NCERT versions. The order does not give a phase-in window. For Classes 9-12, schools can still use private publishers but cannot pressure parents to buy from a specific shop. The internal fee committee should review the book list before the May session opens.
What is the penalty if our school exceeds 8% without committee clearance?
The order references disciplinary action under the existing regulatory framework of the 2020 Act. Past CG orders have included recovery of excess fees, fines on the management, and in repeat cases withdrawal of NOC for the next academic year. The first compliance check by district nodal principals is expected before the June admission window opens.
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