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A fee circular arrives with a higher number and a one-line reason. You can ask for more, and asking in writing, through the right body, gets further than an angry WhatsApp group.
Who decides school fees in India?
It depends on your state and your board, so start there. For CBSE schools, the CBSE Affiliation Bye-Laws say fees must be charged under the heads prescribed by the state or UT Department of Education (clause 7.3), and fees under any head must follow that government's regulations (clause 7.2).
The same bye-laws give the School Management Committee the job of approving "the rates of Fees and other charges" (clause 8.4.11) and reviewing the school budget (clause 8.4.12). That committee must include two parents of students in the school (clause 8.2.2). Every affiliated school's website "should also have information with regard to fees charged."
Some states add their own fee laws. Delhi's School Education (Transparency in Fixation and Regulation of Fees) Act, 2025, published in the Delhi Gazette on 14 August 2025, is a detailed recent example:
Each school must form a School Level Fee Regulation Committee before 15 July each year, with five parents chosen by lottery from the PTA, three teachers, the principal, a management representative and a nominee of the Director of Education as observer (section 4).
Management must submit its proposed fee for the next block of three academic years, with supporting records, by 31 July; the committee has 30 days from receiving the records to decide and cannot approve more than was proposed (section 5).
The approved fee must be displayed on the notice board in Hindi, English and the school's medium of instruction, and on the school website if it has one.
A group of at least 15% of the parents of the affected class or school can appeal to the District Fee Appellate Committee within 30 days (sections 2 and 5).
Private schools' petitions challenging the Delhi law were still pending in the Delhi High Court in July 2026, ETV Bharat reported, so check the Directorate of Education's latest circular. Outside Delhi, look up your state education department's fee rules.
What details should you request from the school?
Ask for documents, not reassurances. Section 8 of the Delhi Act lists what a fee decision must weigh, including facilities, administration and maintenance costs, staff salaries and annual increments, and a reasonable revenue surplus. It is a sensible model anywhere.
The old and new fee, broken down head by head (tuition, development, lab, transport, activities).
Which body approved the increase, and when: the School Management Committee, the PTA or a fee committee.
The reason in numbers: a salary revision, new facilities, higher rent or running costs.
Whether the increase applies to current students or only to new admissions.
Any one-time charges, and whether they are refundable.
Here is a made-up example. Say monthly tuition rises from ₹8,000 to ₹9,200, and a new "smart class" fee of ₹500 a month appears. Tuition alone is up 15% (₹1,200 a month). With the new head, your monthly bill rises by ₹1,700, or ₹20,400 over 12 months. Your questions now write themselves: what does the extra ₹1,200 of tuition pay for, who approved the new ₹500 head, and is it a head your state permits?
How do you raise a fee hike through the PTA?
One parent's complaint is easy to set aside; a PTA query on record is not. If you have not been involved before, our guide to joining the school PTA explains how it works.
Talk to the parent members of the management or fee committee first.
Agree on three or four written questions, not twenty.
Send them by email, so there is a dated record.
Ask for a reply by a fixed date and an agenda slot at the next meeting.
Here is a message you can adapt:
"Dear Principal, we are writing as parents of Class 8, through the PTA, about the fee circular dated [date]. Could you please share the head-wise old and new fees, the body that approved the revision and the date it did so, and the main costs behind the increase? We would like this discussed at the next PTA meeting. Thank you, [names]."
What if the school's answers don't add up?
If the reply is vague or a fee head looks unauthorised, write once more, quoting the rule. If that fails, go to the authority your rules name, such as your district education office. Keep every circular, receipt and email.
Meanwhile, plan for the money. Our pieces on hidden extras in education costs and budgeting for coaching and school help you see the whole year. If you cut back on paid tuition, Fermi's AI tutor can work out what your child already knows and build a plan for each session, so study time at home starts with a clear next step.
