Private School Fee Hike Capped; Children Trafficked for Labor Rescued

June

2026

After Panjab Chief Minister’s announcement mandating private schools to cap annual fee increase at 5%, state Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains has directed amendments to the Punjab Regulation of Fee of Unaided Educational Institutions Act, 2016, (amended in 2019). Data reveals that Panjab received 166 complaints related to private school fees since 2022. Nearly 80% of these complaints have been disposed of, while the remaining cases are under examination. Ludhiana recorded the highest number of complaints at 40, followed by Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar (22), Ferozepur (11), Amritsar (11), and Rupnagar (10). The Punjab Human Rights Commission has sought a probe into the suicide of 17-year-old student, Amjot Kaur over fee-related pressure from her school management. Meanwhile, nine children were rescued from child labor during raids in Khanna. The district task force, led by the District Child Protection Officer, Rashmi Saini, conducted raids at various shops and eateries. The rescued children were presented before the Child Welfare Committee, Ludhiana, and would be handed over to their kin after counseling. Additionally, 14 children allegedly being trafficked to Panjab for labor, were rescued from two trains at Ambala Cantonment Railway Station. Eight minor boys being transported to Ludhiana, Khanna, and Patiala by the train Jan Nayak Express were rescued on 3 Jun and six children being taken to different locations in Panjab by the train Karambhoomi Express were rescued on 4 Jun. Data reveals that since August 2025, almost 110 children have been rescued from 12 trains heading towards Panjab from West Bengal and Bihar. The children were rescued in the joint rescue operations by the team of Non-Government Organization Zila Yuva Vikas Sangathan (ZYVS), Railway Protection Force, and Anti-Human Trafficking Unit. ZYVS Programme Coordinator Ajay Tiwari said that the children are taken for work in garment manufacturing units, cycle manufacturing units, bread factories, rice mills, and agricultural fields. ZYVS president Paramjeet Singh Badola said, 'Five such rescue operations have been conducted over the last 20 days. The children were being taken in the past, too, but now we are getting credible information more frequently, due to which we have been able to rescue them.' Furthermore, a minor girl, Navjot Kaur, who went missing in Ludhiana on 29 Apr and a 21-year old woman who went missing in Aug 2025 are yet to be traced (earlier coverage).