Gujarat private school fee regulation has become the centre of a dispute between two major school management associations, leaving administrators across the state uncertain about whether to join a proposed non-cooperation movement or wait for further talks with the government.
The Self-Financed School Management Federation has instructed its member schools not to submit proposals or affidavits seeking fee increases before the Fee Regulatory Committee (FRC) in any of its four zones until the organisation issues further directions. It has also called for complete non-cooperation with orders, circulars and other government activities issued by local offices.
According to the report by Nav Gujarat Samay, the federation said it had repeatedly made representations to the Education Department and the state government on pending issues but had not received a positive decision. It has opposed provisions included in the recently published Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which the organisation says include matters that should not apply to private schools.
The direction places the FRC fee-submission process at the centre of the dispute. The FRC is the mechanism through which private schools submit fee-related proposals and affidavits in the state’s four regulatory zones. A halt in submissions could affect the administrative process for schools seeking approval for revised fees, although the report does not specify how the government or the FRC will respond to the association’s instruction.
The State School Management Federation has adopted a different approach. It said it had sought time to discuss 10 key issues with the government, including the 2026 education amendment bill, the FRC, reimbursement under the Right to Education framework, administrative autonomy for schools, simplification of compliance requirements, a student-parent code of conduct and staff security.
The second association said the government had assured it of positive consideration and appropriate decisions after discussions on these issues. It has therefore appealed to its member schools to remain patient until the final meeting with the government and its outcome. The organisation said further steps would be taken after that meeting, in consultation with school administrators.
The opposing positions have created uncertainty among private-school administrators across Gujarat. One association has directed schools to stop submitting FRC fee-increase proposals and to resist government activities, while the other has asked schools to allow the dialogue process to conclude before taking any further action.
The dispute also places parents and students in a situation where the immediate administrative position of individual schools may differ depending on which association they follow. The report does not establish whether schools have begun implementing the non-cooperation direction or whether the government has issued a formal response to it.
The next significant step will be the government’s proposed final meeting with the State School Management Federation. The associations’ subsequent decisions are expected to determine whether the dispute remains within the consultation process or expands into coordinated non-cooperation across private schools.
