Schools are bent upon finding loopholes in the ruling and will continue to do so unless an authority monitors them
KARACHI: Private schools are considered better than public schools as the former offer more than just the mandatory subjects. The diverse curriculum has produced leaders in all walks of life. This, however, comes at a high price, as private schools have an extensive fee structure. Other than the tuition, separate fees are charged for extra curriculum activities. As a relief to parents who aim to provide their children with good education, the Supreme Court declared that all schools should reduce their fee by 20 per cent if it is above Rs5,000.
Though the order was issued in December 2018, it has not been implemented everywhere, nor are the authorities monitoring its implementation. Every school is giving its own interpretation of the ruling. Some schools have declared that their tuition fee is far less than Rs5,000, while adjusting the remaining amount under other expenses, making the ruling inapplicable. Some have applied the 20 per cent reduction on the difference between their actual fee and the Rs-5000 mark. Given all these variations, it seems that schools are bent upon finding loopholes in the ruling and will continue to do so, unless an impartial authority is set up to monitor them. The Court should also ensure strict implementation of the ruling, in order to provide the common man with the actual relief the decision had aimed at.
Anum Rehman
Published in The Express Tribune, April 17th, 2019.
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