Daily Times

KARACHI: Sindh Private Educational Institutions Regulation and Control Authority (SPEIRCA) is unable to uphold fee structure in private schools as some of the private schools’ owners have hiked up their tuition fees for various classes from 10 percent to 15 percent in the current ongoing academic year, Daily Times has learnt.

Last year, the Sindh High Court (SHC) had ordered the Education and Literacy Department (ELD) to act in accordance with law and enforce the rule of 5 percent rise in fee structure per annum across the province in all registered private schools. In the ongoing academic year, ELD has however failed to implement the court orders and control unconstrained private schools’ owners. As per SPEIRCA, they do not have the authority to intervene in but the private educational institutions are bound not to increase their fees during the course of an academic year when getting registered with SPEIRSA.

The owner of private are mostly affiliated with different associations of private schools which not only patronage their hiked up fee structure but are also declaring it just on various forums. Those associations are ; All Private Schools Management Association, Peak Private Schools Association, All Sindh Private Schools Owners Association, Sindh Private Schools Association and other associations like this.

These associations have established their schools in the various parts of the city included slum areas where they are extorting money from the pockets of poor parents accordingly. However, most of the private schools pay nominal salaries to their teaching staff therefore private schools has become an enormous profitable business.

“Parents are directly affected by the increase in fees, if any of the private school’s owner increases its fees during the academic year it will be deemed illegal” President of Peak Private Schools Association, Syed Shehzad Akhtar told Daily Times, adding that education department should enforce rule of law in all registered private schools, that if the owner is found guilty for rising the fee structure, he must be treated as per law including cancellation of registration.

The Chief Minister, Syed Murad Ali Shah has recently announced exemption of examination fee for the students of metric classes, enrolled with public schools but the Board of Secondary Education Karachi has increased its fee structure for private schools especially for the students of metric class. “It is injustice with parents whose children are studying in those schools therefore some of the owners are possibly demanding some extra fee from the students” he pointed out.

“Education department should review its decision, as examination fees has been waived for students of public schools, a similar step should be taken for the students of private schools also” he demanded.

“Non of our association’s school is allowed to make money by using lurking tactics, however some private schools which are not the part of any association are swelling the fee structure day by day, which is resulting of all schools being blamed by the parents and the concerned authorities, President of All Private Management Schools Association, Sharaf u Zaman said, metric exams have still some time left so it is beyond understanding why owners of private schools are demanding extra fees.