Fees out of reach: No progress in reigning in capital’s private schools

CADD, PEIRA fail to provide relief to students’ parents

ISLAMABAD:

In spite involvement of the prime minister and much apparent political kerfuffle, and promises there is virtually no progress in easing the problems facing the parents of students enrolled at various private-sector schools in the capital. The arrival of new management at the Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) has bore no fruits so far.

The parents started protests last year in September against private school owners against unchecked fee hike and lack of enforcement of regulations. As the issue caught media’s attention, the same month, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif issued orders barring private educational institutes from charging increased fee, but that too did not stop the schools owners.

The issue reached a stalemate in December after some of the schools owners sought court help and questioned government’s action to stop them from charging their desired fee. Some parents also became party in the case, and submitted their grievances at the court.



Meanwhile, there is reluctance at the level of the CADD in implementation of the Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Authority (Peira) Act 2013.

The National Assembly sub-committee on Cabinet Secretariat, which was formed to suggest possible amendments to the Peira Act 2013 and help regulate private schools, has met thrice but there has been no progress.

The Piera functioned without a chairperson for two years until December 2015 when the prime minister appointed Mussadiq Khan at the position. It turned out, last week that the appointment was made on a temporary basis, when CADD advertised the position.

The regulatory authority has so far proven ineffective in regulating the private-sector schools.

Parents’ plea

Parents of the students enrolled at private schools have been complaining of a 13 to 35 per cent annual increase in fee, in violation of Peira rules that allow only an increase of up to 10 per cent a year.

They have criticised schools managements for charging library and laboratory fees from Montessori students. These students, they argue are not using any laboratory facility and some of the schools have just a small book shelf to boast as library facility.

“My kid is in Montessori and he is charged a library fee of Rs5,000. When I asked the management about the library, a rack of few books was shown to me,” said Noman Baig, a parent of two.

He said that his other child was studying in grade four and the school administration collected his books after completion of his academic year. Baig said that the administration gave his child’s books to a student who had just entered grade four, and charged him Rs20,000.

He said that interestingly book charges varied from one campus of the school to the other in the city.

Another parent lamented that they were tired of paying for holding of endless extracurricular events.

The CADD Minister, Tariq Fazl Chaudhary in a submission before the parliament last year said that over 60 schools and colleges in the capital were collecting from Rs4,000 to $5,500 (or around Rs0.55 million) in annual charges from parents and guardians of children enrolled in primary and secondary classes.

PEIRA

The CADD minister stated that draft rules had been framed for regulating private schools and presented to the NA sub-committee.

“A mechanism will be devised to stop collection of excessive charges by private schools,” he added.

The sub-committee which is overseeing the process has convened several meetings but no progress was made as twice the quorum was not complete.

The tentative draft document detailing rules governing Peira that the committee is supposed to discuss, shows that PEIRA has laid out rules for schools depending up fee being charged instead of facilities being provided.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 12^th, 2016.