Islamabad private schools barred from charging summer vacation fee

IHC also orders to adjust fee already paid for period after vacation

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court barred on Friday private schools in the federal capital from charging tuition in advance during summer vacation.

In a written order issued by the high court, Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui directed Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Authority (PEIRA) to restrain educational institutes from receiving fee for the period of summer vacation until the next hearing.

The court further ordered that already paid fee should be adjusted against fee for the period following vacation.



During the hearing of a petition pertaining to private schools charging summer vacations fee, Justice Siddiqui inquired about the steps taken by PEIRA to which their counsel Advocate Rashid Hanif replied that the high courts in Sindh (SHC), Lahore (LHC) and Peshawar (PHC) had issued stay orders on the matter.

He added that, "A single-bench of the IHC had suspended powers of PEIRA to determine and fix fee being charged by educational institutions, regulate fee for registration/renewal, prescribing of fines for violations of provisions of Peira Act 2013, inspection and monitoring of private schools, regulation of teaching staff, ensuring availability of libraries and moral well-being, deciding the parameters of quality education through adequate building, management partnerships with foreign nationals and countries without prior approval of the government."



After hearing arguments, the court passed the written order and adjourned hearing till June 20.