‘Private schools may shut down if restricted from collecting full fee’

Teachers, other staff losing jobs would also be likely, says Sindh private schools management head

KARACHI: Sindh Private Schools Management Association Syed Tariq Shah has expressed fear of private schools closing down if they were not paid the fees for all months.

Speaking on the matter on Tuesday, he also appealed to the Centre to provide interest-free loans to the private educational institutes in Sindh so that they could bear their expenses during the prevalent crisis. He urged the parents to pay fees on time, which he said would help schools avoid a financial crunch. He added that private schools solely depend on fees collected by students to pay salaries, utility bills, property rent and other expenses.

"There is [also] a possibility of teachers and other staff members losing their jobs in the current situation, while the future of thousands of students is at stake," he said.

He suggested that parents may even pay the fees in installments, assuring that the government had private schools’ complete support in these challenging times.

Shah claimed that private schools had an important role to play in improving the standard of education and literacy rate, saying that they also provided employment to thousands of people. These institutes also pay large sums in taxes to the government and the impact of them closing down would have a resounding effect on the country’s economy, he warned.