Assam Government seeks to Regulate Minority-Run School Fees

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: To bring minority-run schools in Assam under The Assam Non-Government Educational Institutions (Regulation of Fees) Act, 2018, Education Minister Ranoj Pegu today tabled The Assam Non-Government Educational Institutions (Regulation of Fees) (Amendment) Bill, 2025, in the Assam Assembly. The Bill provides for a 25% discount on the admission fees in private schools located in Panchayat areas in the state as relief to rural students.

In the Bill's Statement of Objects and Reasons, it is stated that in the existing Act, the minority institutions are exempted from the purview of fee fixation. There are more than 200 minority schools in the state currently running without having a Fee Fixation Certificate issued by the competent authority, which allows them to collect the fees as per their convenience and also to raise the fee structure every year without any justification. In some cases, it is found that they are charging higher fees in order to meet some expenditures which are not related to the school's matters; hence, this amendment has been proposed.

It is stated that non-government educational institutions of the state falling in the panchayat areas are charging fees from the students almost at par with the schools of urban areas. Since the cost of maintenance of schools in panchayat areas is comparatively low, the amendment proposes a discount of 25% of the applicable admission fees of schools in urban areas to ease the financial burden towards the education of students of rural areas.

"Non-Government Educational Institutions" means the schools established and run by an individual or association of individuals or any non-government organisation or Society or Trust, including the schools established and maintained by minorities under clause (1) of Article 30 of the Constitution of India and imparting education at Primary, Middle, Secondary and Higher Secondary levels without receiving any grants-in-aid from the state government.

Under Article 30 of the Indian Constitution, minorities are defined as religious and linguistic groups that are smaller in number than the majority population and who are given the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice. The Government of India has officially recognized six religious communities as minorities: Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and Zoroastrians (Parsis).

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