Recognition Matters: From Legal Compliance to Safety in Schools
- Dec. 3, 2025, 12:40 p.m.
The Delhi government has declared a one-time regularisation ride for unaided private schools functioning without official credit, adding those in non-conforming places. It’s a major relief for thousands of parents and private schools. Officials reported the decision as a “long-pending correction” that fixes a 10-year-old gap in the capital’s education model, where more schools functioned without formal approval, allowing students in confusion.
The Directorate of Education passed an elaborate verdict receiving applications from unaided private schools that never got credit or whose credit has gone. These schools can now seek credit under the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009, and the Delhi School Education Act, 1973, which mandate valid credit credentials for all private schools under the new policy. Officials told the government established this initiative in the bigger public interest to ensure all students in Delhi study in an accountable, legal and safe institution.
All schools applying for credit must finish a complete 73-point checklist developed by the DoE. This checklist verifies compliance throughout safety measures, academic standards and infrastructure. It covers fire preparedness, building safety, disaster management plans, sanitation and drinking water, the availability of teaching-learning resources and staff qualifications.
Schools must present legal documents related to ownership, management and land use. Credit will be allotted only to institutions that satisfy the standards under Section 19, RTE Act, and the procedure will be time-bound and transparent. For students and parents, this conclusion brings long-awaited reassurance.
A credited school is legally approved to function, assuring that examination results, transfer certificates and students’ education are reasonable. Parents will get greater accountability and transparency from school authorities, as students gain from hygiene, quality benchmarks and uniform safety, throughout accredited institutions.
Education professionals say this act could recreate trust between private schools and families, many of which have operated in a regulatory grey area for years. Ashish Sood, the Delhi Education Minister, called it a “people-first decision that ends a decade of neglect historically”, announcing the reform. This issue stayed stuck in files as students were stripped of their constitutional right to education for over ten years.
Previous governments used favouritism by crediting some schools and avoiding many others. We have stopped this selective treatment under Chief Minister Rekha Gupta Ji’s leadership. It is fairness for institutions, and justice for children, an honest step toward democratising education in Delhi.
Sood also added that the reform assures complete compliance with Article 21-A of the RTE Act and the Constitution, rewarding the government’s dedication that “no student shall be refused education due to location or administrative barriers.
The decision will bring around 500 schools under the DoE’s responsibility and develop nearly 20,000 new seats for children in the DG, CWSN and EWS categories. This sets a milestone in education governance and a determining stage in Delhi’s education journey, according to Sood. The DoE will begin processing school applications presented by official channels. Each will have verification and on-ground examination before credit is given. Schools must follow with infrastructure norms completely; those violating the conditions and safety. They may face cancellation or penalties even after credit. Officials have promised that the procedure will stay time-bound, fair, and transparent to avoid delays.
This regularisation drive highlights a main transformation in Delhi’s education policy. Through bringing all private schools under a safety and single legal framework, the government plans to make sure all students in Delhi learns in a safe, well-governed and recognised situation. Education observers trust that this act could become a system for other states dealing with unaccredited private institutions.
