Regulation: ‘Low-fee schools ignored in new law’

APPSA says 95 per cent of private schools in Punjab charge ‘low fees’

LAHORE: The recently promulgated ordinance regulating private schools in the province ignores the schools charging low fees, the All Pakistan Private Schools’ Association (APPSA) said on Sunday.

APPSA president Shabbir Ahmed Hashmi told a press conference 95 per cent of private schools in the province charged low fees. “The Punjab Private Educational Institutions (Promotion and Regulation) (Amendment) Ordinance, 2015, regulates the ‘elite’ schools only.” “Schools that charge their students between Rs100 and 500 a month are suffering,” he said. He said the law related to the registration of schools had several requirements that schools charging low fees found difficult to meet. “The old procedure for registration was sufficient,” Hashmi said.

The APPSA questioned the role of DCOs in determining the fees .

They said the DCOs had no training to determine the fees. They said school owners should have a say in such decisions. APPSA office-bearer Tufail Baloch criticised examination policies of the Punjab Education Commission (PEC) and the boards of intermediate and secondary education. He said exams for 5th, 8th, 9th and 10th grades were held when students had just returned to schools after holidays. He said if the exams were held on March 10, teachers would be better able to prepare students.

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