SC steps in to help PEIRA regulate private school fee

Directives given to IHC to take a decision in two weeks

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has asked the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to arrive at a decision in a fortnight about the pending case filed against private schools and their exuberant fee increases.

Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Authority (Peira) issued notifications to the Registration and Fee Determination Rules 2016 (RFDR), on June 20, 2016. This notification stated that no private school would be allowed to charge more than the predetermined fee structure. The upper limit was set for both educational systems, Matric, FA and SC and O’ and A’ Levels at Rs8,350 and Rs12,525 respectively.



These rules were formulated after private schools hiked their fees in September 2015. Parents were outraged and the government had to intervene on their behalf to regulate the fee structures. However, the decision of the government was challenged in the IHC. The court ruled in favour of private schools and overrode the government’s notification, leaving the fate of the fee in the schools’ hands.

Peira went on to introduce more rules for private schools which were also challenged in the IHC. The regulators were given orders to not enforce any rules, till the court does not come to a decision. This in turn gave a free hand to private schools to charge what they liked.

Officials close to the case said that schools were taking undue advantage of the delays in litigation and that Peira has been rendered powerless despite the influx of complaints.  



According to numbers from Peira and reports from parents, private schools increased their fees by 20 to 30 percent last year and about 20 to 40 percent this year. Schools such as Beaconhouse, City School, Headstart, Roots Millennium, Roots International, and Roots School System were amongst the schools highlighted for their increasing fee structures.

“I was paying Rs.22,000 for one child, which was hiked up to Rs36,000 post the summer break,” complained one of the parents. The situation is exceptionally bad for those parents that have more than one child enrolled in these schools.

Since the plight of the parents and the regulations of Peira could not be addressed, the regulating body took the matter to the Supreme Court. A three member bench of the apex court comprising Chief Justice Saqib Nisar, Justice Mushir Alam and Justice Sardar Tariq Masood last month directed the IHC to fix the matter in the last week of September and dispose of the matter within two weeks without fail.