Private schools management body says the date was extended at the last minute. PHOTO: FILE
Representatives of the All Pakistan Private Schools Management Association (APPSMA), Rawalpindi division, said that they were also concerned about monopoly of the BISE Lahore over the Punjab Boards Committee of Chairmen (PBCC), comprising of all nine examination boards in the province.
Talking to The Express Tribune, President APPSMA Abrar Ahmed said that BISE Rawalpindi first announced schedule for registration with December 14 as the last date for normal fee while December 23 was the last date set for double registration fee.
Ahmed said that BISE Rawalpindi had extended the deadline to December 29 for registration with normal fee. He said that the board took the decision on demand of the private schools because a lot of students could not register with the board.
He said that elections for the local governments were held on December 5 which kept the staff of private schools and employees of the BISE occupied. He said that the election created problems for the students to get registered in time.
In reply to a question on delay in announcement of revised schedule for registration, Ahmed said that the PBCC had to make all major decision regarding examination schedules and fees. He said that the current chairman of the PBCC was also chairman of the BISE Lahore. He said that the officials of the BISE Rawalpindi could not get approval of the PBCC in time.
Representative of private schools added that the Punjab government had recently changed the policy of rotation for head of the PBCC. He said that earlier chairperson of every examination body used to head the PBCC for two years on rotation bases. He noted that the BISE Lahore chairman had been heading the PBBC for four years creating problems in making different decisions relating to other examination boards in Punjab.
APPSMA General Secretary Amir Anwar said that the examination boards were not allowed to collect registration or examination fees from students in public sector. He said that fees from private students were the main source of income for autonomous examination bodies. He said that the private schools however, had no say in the decision.
Anwar said that the examination boards had started collecting processing fee for online registration. He said that earlier the processing fee was Rs 200 for every private student adding that the Punjab government in 2013 added Rs 195 in the processing fee in the name of fund for the internally displaced persons in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. He said that the IDPS had started going back to their homes but the examination bodies continued collecting funds for them.
When contacted BISE, Rawalpindi spokesperson Arsalan Cheema he revealed that the board would refund fee to the students who deposited double fee before December 29. He said that the students, however, had to apply for the refund. About delay in decision, Cheema said that the decision was taken by the PBCC.
About the processing fees and fund for the IDPs, Cheema said that the private schools’ plea for withdrawal of the processing fee was dismissed by the Lahore High Court.
Regarding end of rotation policy for the PBCC chairmanship, Cheema said that either BISE Rawalpindi Chairman Dr Zareef or the head of the PBCC could comment on the issue.
The BISE Rawalpindi chairman could not be contacted for his comments.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 27th, 2015.
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