Daily Times

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Tuesday extended its interim order that restrained private schools from raising tuition fee more than five percent and taking action against students whose parents were not willing to pay exorbitant fee until November 8.

A division bench, headed by Justice Munib Akhtar, was hearing a petition filed by parents of children studying in different private schools against increase in fee more than five percent in violation of the rules and regulations.

During the hearing, the court partly heard the comments and directed lawyers from all sides to put forward their arguments in the next hearing.

Meanwhile, the bench extended its order restrained the private schools from raising their fee more than five percent as well as taking coercive action against the students whose parents did not wish to pay exorbitant fee until November 8.

Earlier, parents of children studying in different private schools petitioned the high court and submitted that as per rules, the schools’ management could increase fee more than five percent in an academic year but some private schools had increased the fee by more than 10 percent.

They prayed the court to direct authorities concerned to restrain schools from increasing fee and follow rules and regulations.

Last year, while hearing an identical petition, the SHC had directed the Sindh Education Department to ensure enforcement of Sub-rule 7 m(3) of the Rules 2002 that bounds private institutions not to raise fee more than 5 percent within an academic year and further requiring them to revise fee structure after prior approval from the government.

Published in Daily Times, October 11^th 2017.