Education matters: ‘Inflating private school fees tip of the iceberg’

Officials, thinkers and parents speak at Alif Ailaan’s Qaumi Taleemi Jirgah

ISLAMABAD: An education meeting with over six speakers on the ongoing issue of hike in fee of private institutions was organised on Tuesday.

Alif Ailaan organised the ‘Qaumi Taleemi Jirgah’ or ‘National Town Hall Meeting’, on Tuesday.

The event turned out to be more of a vindication talk by speakers and participants. People from different parts of the country joined the discourse regarding free education in the backdrop of recent protests against high-priced private education.

“This government has been responsive to issues regarding the education sector, and will continue to work to solve the sector’s problems,” said education minister Muhammad Balighur Rehman, key speaker at the discussion.

However the minister spoke of the government’s achievements in education rather than tackle the issue in focus. Rehman spoke about the highest allocation made to the Higher Education Commission (HEC) for the ongoing year, and other improvements in the education sector.

“The media should highlight improvements including the non-governmental organisations,” he said, referring to an NGO report which highlighted a number of missing facilities in public education.

Speakers shared their views and fielded questions from parents, educationists, members of civil society and the media.

“If government schools provided quality education, why would parents like me choose expensive private schools?” asked a parent addressing the ministers.

“The issue of inflating fees among elite private schools is just the tip of the iceberg. The objective of constitutionally guaranteed “free and compulsory” education for all Pakistani children cannot be reached without an examination of the quality of education being offered in government schools,” said PTI’s Fauzia Kasuri.

She also criticised the government over a lack of regulation regarding private education institutes.

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