New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Monday extended till February 20 the deadline of February 10 set by the Delhi government for private schools to constitute the school-level fee regulation committee (SLFRC).

A bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia issued notice to the Delhi government on pleas by several associations of schools challenging the February 1 notification on setting up the committee within 10 days, and said no prejudice would be caused if the formation of the committee was deferred.

“We find in case the GNCTD does not insist on the formation of the SLFRC, no prejudice is going to be caused to either side or to the timeline (for fixation of fees for academic sessions 2026-2027),” said the bench.

“Accordingly, we provide that till the next date of listing of the application of stay i.e. February 20, those schools that have not constituted the SLFRC shall not be insisted upon to form it,” it directed.

On February 1, the Delhi government issued a gazette notification to “smoothen” the implementation of the Delhi School Education (Transparency in Fixation and Regulation of Fees) Act after the Supreme Court raised questions over its new fee fixation law.

According to the notification, every school was directed to constitute an SLFRC within 10 days of the order’s publication.

The gazette notification further said that school managements must submit details of the proposed fee structure for the next block of three academic years starting from 2026-27 within 14 days of forming the SLFRC, after which the committee will proceed to fix the fees according to the provisions of the Act.

Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, appearing for the Delhi government, said deferring the deadline beyond February 10 would hamper the timeline to determine the school fees by March 27 for the upcoming academic year.

He said that after the constitution of the committee by February 10, the school management has to share by February 25 the details of proposed fees for the next three academic sessions starting 2026-2027 and the appellate committee is to be constituted by March 3.

Raju also said that on January 8, while dealing with petitions challenging the new fee regulation law, the deadline was extended till January 20 and no further extension could be sought now.

The bench, however, observed that the earlier extension was before the February 1 notification and the “circumstances have changed”.

The court was hearing petitions by the Forum of Minority Schools and the Forum for Promotion of Quality Education For All. It also heard a plea by the Action Committee of Unaided Recognised Private Schools challenging the February 1 notification.

In its petition, the Forum of Minority Schools said under the Delhi School Education (Transparency in Fixation and Regulation of Fees) Act, 2025, the SLFRC has to be constituted on or before July 15 of each academic year.

The petition said that to advance the deadline of July 15, a legislative amendment to the enactment was required and, therefore, the notification was arbitrary and without any authority of law.

Under the new framework, every private school has to constitute an SLFRC. This committee will include representatives from the school management, the principal, three teachers, five parents and one nominee from the Department of Education (DoE). Members would be selected through a lottery system in the presence of observers to maintain transparency.

Petitions by several private schools challenging the new fees regulation law are also pending in the high court.

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