Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): More than 70% of private schools in Madhya Pradesh have failed to make their fee structure public, in open violation of a state law that mandates full disclosure.

The Madhya Pradesh Niji Vidyalaya (Fees Tatha Sambandhit Vishayon Ka Viniyaman) Act, 2017 makes it compulsory for all private schools, irrespective of the board they are affiliated to, to publicly declare their class-wise fee structure, including tuition, lab, and transport charges, and the percentage hike from the previous academic year.

Despite this, only 10,304 of the 34,779 private schools operating in the state have uploaded their fee details for the 2025–26 academic session, which is just 29.62%. The remaining 24,475 schools have simply ignored the legal requirement.

The declared fee structures are meant to be uploaded on the government portal dpimp.in, accessible to parents and the general public. To do so, schools are required to pay a portal fee ranging from Rs 1,000 to Rs 5,000, based on student strength. Failure to upload attracts a penalty five times the portal fee, in addition to a fine. However, enforcement remains weak.

Shockingly, even some of Bhopal’s top private schools have not complied. These include Delhi Public School, Neelbad, Orion International School, Bawadiya Kalan, Billabong High International, Neelbad, Sanskar Valley School, Neelbad, and Bal Bhawan School, Shamla Hills.

In an effort to ease compliance, the state government last month exempted low-fee schools, those charging less than Rs 25,000 annuallyfrom uploading fee details.

These schools now only need to submit an affidavit declaring their fee amount. They are also exempted from certain regulations on uniforms and books. Yet, this relaxation has not significantly improved adherence.

Parents demand action

Prabodh Pandya, general secretary of MP Palak Mahasangh, slammed the state government for failing to enforce its own law. “Are private schools above law and rules? How can they behave like this?” he asked, demanding that the government impose fines and penalties on all non-compliant schools without delay.