Fee hike

Sindh High Court restrained private schools from raising their fee by more than five per cent in any academic year

In a welcome move, the Sindh High Court this week restrained private schools from raising their fee by more than five per cent in any academic year. This makes perfect sense given the limited funds available to parents. The directives were given following a constitutional petition filed by parents of children of different schools who asked the court to take notice of the trend of some schools of increasing tuition fees by over five per cent in a year.

These increases were done unannounced and on a regular basis in some schools. In the past too, many parents have complained over this trend and the government had promised action. It may be recalled that earlier Sindh Education Minister Jam Mehtab Hussain Dahar had warned the management of different private schools of following the set rules with regard to fee increase or face the consequences which could include both fines and jail terms.

It is now time for the government to follow up with action. Schools that violate the rules over fees and other levies have to be identified and taken to task. The government should also follow up with setting some parameters for school fees, giving each school management to determine which band it stands in and based on that what it can charge. Schools that offer the best facilities, pay comparatively high salaries to their staff and manage to give good overall student results on a consistent basis should be considered at the top end of the scale and should be allowed to charge higher fees. It is imperative that the government regulates the private schooling sector on the one hand and casts an eye on the public schooling sector, which also leaves a lot to be desired. The focus of the government should be to ensure that every child has access to good quality education. This is a target that the government should make its priority.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 22^nd, 2017.

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