Private schools add electricity costs to fee vouchers

Parents say several schools charge miscellaneous fee in violation of government orders

RAWALPINDI:

As people are reeling under the backbone-breaking inflation  including  inflated  electricity bills, several private schools in Rawalpindi have  started  
sending  fee  vouchers  to  students  that contained  electricity  costs  of educational institutions.

Several private schools in Rawalpindi have added electricity fuel adjustments of up to Rs200 to the fee vouchers of students.

Several schools have also started collecting miscellaneous fees including water and security charges from the  students.

The  parents  said the miscellaneous fee was being charged in violation  of government  directives wherein schools had been  instructed  to  charge only tuition fee.

The authorities concerned have turned a blind eye to this grave violation, however.

Parents  have  expressed  their grave concern against the  addition  of  electricity costs  to  the  fee  vouchers  and demanded to do away with the illegal practice.A large  number  of  private  schools  have  added  electricity  costs  to  the  fee vouchers for the month of September.  

Parents  who  have  to  three  children  in the  same  school  have  to  pay the electricity cost with each fee voucher.

Faizan Ali and Farooq Ahmad, who had been sent the fee vouchers containing electricity costs of schools, said that it was cruel to charge electricity costs from parents.  

They  said  that they were already paying inflated bills at home, and private schools have further  burdened parents by adding electricity  costs to the school fee. They said that they will soon take the matter to the court.

Idrees  Qureshi  said  that  when he protested against the  addition  of  electricity costs, the school concerned told him that the management has slapped the fee. He said that the school concerned  told  him  to  admit his  children  to  a government school if he was unable to pay the fee. 

“It  is  time  the  government and the education department take notice of the issue and seek an explanaion from private schools.

All-Pakistan Private Schools and Colleges Association President Irfan Muzaffar Kiyani  said  that  the association has nothing to do with the matter and 
if some private schools have added electricity costs to the fee vouchers, it was solely their own decision.

He claimed that no school affiliated  with  the  association  was  not  collecting electricity  costs  from  the  students.

Rawalpindi education de-partment officials said that they  have  received complaints and an appropriate decision  was  being  taken on in consultation with the commissioner and the provincial education ministry.

Asjad Ali, the admin officer of a private school that has added electricity costs to school fees, said that such inflated bills have been  sent  to  schools that they were unable to pay on their own.