Seal schools violating orders: PM Nawaz

ISLAMABAD:

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday directed the authorities to seal schools not complying with the orders of reducing or reimbursing the raise in their fees.

Taking a strong notice of the situation, the premier directed the Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Authority to address the grievances of parents. The PEIRA has constituted a Grievance Cell.

Parents can register their complaints on the phone numbers: 051-9101743 (landline), 0300-8758839 (cellphone)
and 051-9101800 (fax). Complaints can also be emailed to: [e-mail]

Earlier, the government 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.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 1^st, 2015.