Capitalist schools: PEIRA failed to control abrupt increases in fees
Audit report recommends fixing responsibility for authority’s failure
The ordinance gives government powers to regulate tuition fee and other fees charged by private schools. PHOTO: FILE
ISLAMABAD:
The Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Authority failed to control the exorbitant increase in fees by private educational institutes in the capital in the past few years as it failed to act as per its mandate in the Islamabad Capital Territory.
The serious objections to the functions of PEIRA were discovered by the Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) in its latest audit report for 2016-17.
Detailed observations from the AGP come at a time when parents of students enrolled in private schools are running from pillar to post to hold institutions responsible for the ‘illegal’ raising of fees. The authority has also been in litigation over Registration and Fee Determination Rules 2016.
PEIRA, as per its act passed in 2013 through an act of Parliament, is responsible for looking after the registration and regulation of private educational institutions in ICT apart from fixing the admission fees for each class. It also manages security fee, monthly tuition fee and other fees being charged by private educational institutions.
Currently, there are over 1,200 private schools registered with PEIRA in ICT, but the body has struggled to rope in the elite educational institutes in capital for the implementation of bylaws.
The audit observed that over the past few years, private educational institutes had increased their fees manifold without any formula framed by PEIRA all the while parents and students filed as many as 80 complaints about fee hikes.
“Audit is of the view that PEIRA failed to control the increases in fees by private educational institutions,” the audit report noted. The management of Capital Administration and Development Authority (CDA) told the AGP that the PEIRA Act had been passed in March 2013 and confessed that efforts were made in 2015 to regulate fees of private institutions. In this regards, fees were reverted to the tariffs of 2014.
“Moreover, a mechanism is under process to gain better control over fee structure,” CDA said. However, the auditor rejected the reply since “PEIRA failed to act according to its mandate provided in the act and failed to control the increases in fees by privy educational institutes.”
Interestingly, that increase was only reverted after parents had protested on social media and staged demonstrations outside the National Press Club with PEIRA helpless to do anything.
The audit recommended that responsibility may be fixed for non-fulfilment of responsibilities given to PEIRA.
The auditors further observed that PEIRA had also failed to achieve the aims and objectives of its law, including regulating curricula according to the federal scheme of studies.
Similarly, the audit observed that PEIRA had also failed to promote co-curricular activities on an inter-institutional basis including capacity building of teachers.
The audit concluded that the regularity authority failed to determine and fix the rate of the being charged by the institutions, qualifications, of teaching staff, their terms and conditions of service including salaries and mode of payment of their salaries.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 19th, 2017.
The Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Authority failed to control the exorbitant increase in fees by private educational institutes in the capital in the past few years as it failed to act as per its mandate in the Islamabad Capital Territory.
The serious objections to the functions of PEIRA were discovered by the Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) in its latest audit report for 2016-17.
Detailed observations from the AGP come at a time when parents of students enrolled in private schools are running from pillar to post to hold institutions responsible for the ‘illegal’ raising of fees. The authority has also been in litigation over Registration and Fee Determination Rules 2016.
PEIRA, as per its act passed in 2013 through an act of Parliament, is responsible for looking after the registration and regulation of private educational institutions in ICT apart from fixing the admission fees for each class. It also manages security fee, monthly tuition fee and other fees being charged by private educational institutions.
Currently, there are over 1,200 private schools registered with PEIRA in ICT, but the body has struggled to rope in the elite educational institutes in capital for the implementation of bylaws.
The audit observed that over the past few years, private educational institutes had increased their fees manifold without any formula framed by PEIRA all the while parents and students filed as many as 80 complaints about fee hikes.
“Audit is of the view that PEIRA failed to control the increases in fees by private educational institutions,” the audit report noted. The management of Capital Administration and Development Authority (CDA) told the AGP that the PEIRA Act had been passed in March 2013 and confessed that efforts were made in 2015 to regulate fees of private institutions. In this regards, fees were reverted to the tariffs of 2014.
“Moreover, a mechanism is under process to gain better control over fee structure,” CDA said. However, the auditor rejected the reply since “PEIRA failed to act according to its mandate provided in the act and failed to control the increases in fees by privy educational institutes.”
Interestingly, that increase was only reverted after parents had protested on social media and staged demonstrations outside the National Press Club with PEIRA helpless to do anything.
The audit recommended that responsibility may be fixed for non-fulfilment of responsibilities given to PEIRA.
The auditors further observed that PEIRA had also failed to achieve the aims and objectives of its law, including regulating curricula according to the federal scheme of studies.
Similarly, the audit observed that PEIRA had also failed to promote co-curricular activities on an inter-institutional basis including capacity building of teachers.
The audit concluded that the regularity authority failed to determine and fix the rate of the being charged by the institutions, qualifications, of teaching staff, their terms and conditions of service including salaries and mode of payment of their salaries.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 19th, 2017.