Schools barred from collecting summer tuition

Allowed to collect fees on monthly basis, says district education <br /> authority CEO

LAHORE: In a letter issued by the District Education Authority (DEA) Chief Executive Officer Bashir Ahmed Goraya on Sunday, the Punjab School Education Department (SED) has barred private schools from collecting tuition in advance during summer vacation.

However, schools are still allowed to collect tuition on a monthly basis during the three-month long summer break, from June to August.

“…some of the privately managed schools in district Lahore are forcing (parents) to deposit the fees for three months (June, July and August) in a lump sum which is an unbearable burden…,” read the letter.



Therefore all the owners and principals of privately managed schools are hereby directed to abstain from collecting the advance fees for the months of June, July and August, 2018; failing to do so will result in  strict punitive action, it went on to say.

The move came about after parents were billed their children’s three-month tuition fee, which prompted individuals to complain to the SED.

As a result, DEA CEO issued a letter to all private school owners and principals, warning them of action in the case of non-compliance.

The CEO also directed the district monitoring officer, district education officers and the finance assistant director to proceed against private schools if the orders are not implemented.

Earlier, Punjab School Education Minister Rana Mashhood made a similar announcement during a press conference on May 10.

“In Punjab, there are regulations barring schools from collecting fee during summer vacations all at once. Schools can only collect fees once a month, as per the law,” he stated.

The Punjab government will not let parents be burdened with three-month fee and schools will have to comply with the directive, he expressed.

SED will take action against any school that violates these direction, he emphasised.

In addition to this, speaking about the various summer camps arranged during the summer, he said that schools were permitted to do this. However, they will not be allowed to bill parents for these summer camps, he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 14^th, 2018.