Bill in the offing: ‘We can’t afford to send kids to private schools’

LAHORE:

The provincial government told Lahore High Court on Wednesday that a bill to regulate the fee structure of private schools will be presented at the next session of the Punjab Assembly.

A provincial law officer gave an undertaking on this in writing on behalf of the school education secretary. The court was hearing a petition questioning the “exorbitant” fee structures of private schools.

Advocate Sheraz Zaka had filed the public interest litigation petition saying that there was no law to regulate private schools. He said some private schools got away with raising fees twice a year. He said it had become very hard for people to educate their children in private schools and the government had taken no mitigating measures. The law officer said legislation in this regard had been finalised and a bill to this effect would be presented in the Assembly in the next session.

Justice Shahid Jamil disposed of the petition and directed the provincial government to ensure that the bill was tabled.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 2^nd, 2015.