Regulating private schools : Govt to freeze fees for this year

Says it will make regulatory body functional, but without appointing a head

ISLAMABAD:

The government on Tuesday announced that there would be no rise in private school fees in Islamabad this year.

Minister of State for Federal Education and Professional Training Balighur Rehman addressed a press conference on Tuesday along with MNA Tariq Fazal Chaudhary following an announcement by the Prime Minister’s Office on Friday night that government would check arbitrary increases in fees by private schools.

Though Rehman claimed that a “comprehensive” policy would be devised to regulate private schools, he did not say why the Private Educational Institutes Regulatory Authority (PEIRA) had been headless since 2013. Instead, he announced that a joint secretary would be appointed to make the authority functional.

Not only has PEIRA been without a chairperson for over two years, but the government has also failed to pay its staff since July this year.



The announcement from the prime minister’s office had come after weeks of protests by parents against arbitrary fee hikes by private schools.

“There will be no increase in fees this year. Schools that have charged increased fees will have to adjust it in coming months,” Rehman said.

The minister said inflation this year was 2.8 per cent, the lowest in recent years. “Almost all the institutions increased their fees by 10 to 15 per cent which is unjustifiable.

“Some parents got their children out of private schools due to fee hike. Some had no option to and paid the increased fee,” he said.

The minister said private schools should focus on quality education and conceptual learning. “We are also working to improve the quality in government-run schools through standardisation of school education across the country.”

He said the government has allocated Rs80 billion for the Higher Education Commission, but gave no figures about the allocation for school education.

Chaudhary, a ruling party MNA for Islamabad, said Islamabad’s schools would be made a role model for the entire country. When asked how, Chaudhary said a plan was being mulled.

He said a technical college in Mera Begwal, which has been non-functional for the last 25 years, will soon start classes for students of Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU). Chaudhary, however, has been saying this since 2013, but the college remains closed.

Similar to previous talks and meetings on the issue, Minister of State for Capital Administration and Development Division Usman Ibrahim was absent. Ibrahim has not shown interest in meeting protesting parents or school managements to sort out the issue.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 23^rd, 2015.