Sindh

Towards affordable education: SHC intervenes to solve school fees issue

The Generation's School management restrained from taking coercive action against students

Our Correspondent September 18, 2015

the generation 039 s school management restrained from taking coercive action against students photo parents gs

The Generation's School management restrained from taking coercive action against students. PHOTO: PARENTS.GS

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) restrained on Friday a private school management from taking any coercive action against the students pertaining to the enhancement of monthly tuition fees till September 22.

A two-judge bench, headed by Justice Sajjad Ali Shah, issued notices to the provincial advocate-general, the chief secretary, education and literacy secretary and The Generation's School administrator to file their comments by the next hearing.These directives came after the bench heard a petition, jointly filed by some students' parents, against the sudden increase in the fees by the school management.

One of the petitioners, whose children are currently studying at the school's North Nazimabad campus, said they belong to the middle class and are trying to provide the best possible education to their children.

Violation of laws

School managements have never increased the students' monthly tuition fee above the annual five per cent according to the Sindh Private Educational Institutional Ordinance 2001, said a petitioner. The amendment, Section 236-I, made to the Income Tax Ordinance 2001 in 2013 stated that educational institutional are required to collect advance tax from the parents, a petitioner claimed. The tax is adjustable against the tax liability of the parents, the petitioner added.

Such a raise in the fees is a violation of the Sindh Private Educational Institutions (Regulation and Control) Ordinance 2003 and Sindh Private Educational Institutions (Regulation and Control) Ordinance 2015, said the lawyer of the petitioners. "It is crystal clear in the Section 6 that fee structure shall be fixed with prior approval of government," he argued.

The fee structure for the pre-nursery for the private institutions was up by Rs5,000 per month, said another petitioner. It is extremely unfortunate that the noble profession of education has become a profit earning business, he added.

The school also charges separate charges in the name of field trips and other extra-curricular activities, a petitioner claimed. This is also a total violation of the constitution as well as the Sindh Private Institutions (Regulatory and Control) Ordinance 2001.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 19^th, 2015.

COMMENTS (1)

Woz Ahmed | 9 years ago | Reply Public education should be a priority, no one should have to turn to private education unless they are wealthy enougth to choose a different option, through choice. Private education is a business, they should charge a market rate reflecting the quality of education they can provide, what is not acceptable is raising fees mid term, as it is disruptive to the child. Good luck to the private educators, the state has failed, submarines, metros buses, nuclear weapons, take priority, we said we will eat grass, we can survive on grass and subsequent limited education and health spending that's a choice, 50% of people are illiterate, that's a choice and we should accept that. Off topic I see us as one of the Koreas, every conversation starts we have nuclear weapons.....

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