Volte-face: Capital’s schools allowed to charge summer fees

IHC division bench overturns order of single bench after hearing appeal

ISLAMABAD: With just days to go before schools in the capital go on a two-month-long summer break, a division bench of the higher court has overturned a ban on private schools collecting tuition fees in advance for the vacations.

The order comes less than two weeks after a single bench of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) had imposed the ban.

IHC's division bench, comprising Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, suspended Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui's order while hearing an intra-court appeal against the order.



In the ICA, the petitioner (school) submitted through their counsel Sardar Latif Khosa that neither were they made a party to the case nor were they heard as the single-bench issued the order.

Khosa urged the court to set aside as the order of the single bench terming it illegal.

On May 18, in a written order, IHC’s Justice Siddiqui had directed the Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Authority (PEIRA) to restrain educational institutes from receiving advanced fees for summer vacations until the next hearing of the court.

The court had further ordered that if parents had already paid the fees, it should be adjusted against the fees for the period after the vacations end.

The order had come in response to a petition filed by citizen Jamshed Khan against a private school chain.

Petitioner had challenged the collection of summer vacation fees, claiming that since private schools remain closed for over two months during this period, therefore they were not entitled to charge tuition fees and other expenses from students for that period.



During the hearing, Justice Siddiqui had inquired from the Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) secretary and PEIRA chairman how could management of private school collect fees for the period when students are at home.

The city officials had responded that the Lahore High Court (LHC) in toto and the Peshawar High Court (PHC) had partially restrained private educational institutions from receiving tuition fee during the summer vacations.

Subsequently, Justice Siddiqui had ordered that “PIERA is directed that all private educational institutions be restrained from receiving the fee for the period of summer vacations till next date of hearing.”

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

However, the division bench on Wednesday overturned that order and adjourned the case. A date for when the hearing will be held next will be fixed by the registrar office of IHC.

The order has been hailed by private schools association.

“[Decision] is the victory of Private Schools Federation’s point of view,” said Kashif Mirza, the president of the All Pakistan Private Schools Federation.

Mirza further claimed that PEIRA and CADD had allegedly misguided the IHC about the facts and had even concealed facts relating to the orders of the different high courts. 

Published in The Express Tribune, May 31^st, 2018.