The Aam Aadmi Party government has decided to cap fee hikes in private schools in Punjab at 5% annually.Announcing the decision in Chandigarh on Wednesday, chief minister Bhagwant Mann said that any private school that has increased school fees by more than 15% over the past three years will have to refund the excess amount collected from parents. (File photo)Announcing the decision in Chandigarh on Wednesday, chief minister Bhagwant Mann said that any private school that has increased school fees by more than 15% over the past three years will have to refund the excess amount collected from parents.“We are going to bring a bill in the next assembly session to enact the most stringent law in the country. The 5% cap will apply to tuition fees and other charges. Strict action will be taken against any school that violates this cap on fee hike,” he said after a meeting with officials of the school education department.Mann alleged that the previous Capt Amarinder Singh-led Congress government had allowed private schools a free hand to hike their fees.The announcement comes days after the Amritsar police booked the principal and a teacher of a private school on the outskirts of the city for allegedly harassing a 17-year-old student and driving her to suicide.The student, who had just passed Class 11 and lived with her maternal aunt in Amritsar, consumed a poisonous substance at home on May 22. After battling for life for eight days, she succumbed on May 30. Following her death, her father filed a complaint, accusing the school authorities of mental harassment and humiliation in front of other students. Before taking the extreme step, the student also recorded a video alleging mental harassment by the school and pressure related to fee payments. Her father said that while his daughter wanted to be promoted to Class 12, the school was withholding her Class 11 results, and both accused frequently forced her to do their office and personal work against her will.Reacting to the incident, Punjab education minister Harjot Singh Bains said that the government took the matter very seriously, confirming that an FIR has been registered for abetment to suicide and promising the strictest action against the school authorities. Acting on the complaint, the police booked the principal and the teacher under Sections 108 (abetment to suicide), 351(2) (criminal intimidation), and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.Investigating officer assistant sub-inspector Harjinder Singh said that both the accused are currently on the run, and a hunt has been launched to nab them.