Increase in school fees: Police baton charge protesting parents

Many parents injured after police resorts to baton charge. CM adviser assures of action against guilty policemen.

KARACHI: It was a normal day at school until scores of concerned and enraged parents took to the streets on Tuesday. Karachi Public School had announced an increase in their school fees which took parents by surprise. The school also announced that the increased fees have to be paid in advance.

The administration of the school had announced a Rs500 per month increase in the fees of their primary school and the secondary-school monthly fees would also be raised by Rs800. With the raise, the new bi-monthly fee of a child attending secondary school was an inflated Rs9,000 and that of a primary school-going child reached Rs6,000.

According to parents, the announcement was uncalled for, as one family had three to four of their children studying in the same school. “We cannot afford to send our children to this school,” said one parent. “There is absolutely no need for such a hike.”

“We used to pay the annual five-per cent increase, which was acceptable. But increasing Rs500 and Rs800 is unfair and unjustifiable,” complained another parent whose son studies in Karachi Public’s primary section. Many parents went to the administration to discuss the school-fees increase. “But their reply was that if we cannot afford it, we should change our children’s schools,” he said.

But those parents whose children studied in the secondary section of the school, they said, “Why should we take our children out of this school when their Matric is almost complete?”

The parents holding placards and banners blocked traffic near the Star Gate, which caused a massive jam on Sharae Faisal.

A heavy contingent of police arrived at the scene and tried to control the situation, however, they resorted to baton charge. Policemen were seen chasing parents with batons, injuring many.

Rangers intervened and stopped the police from baton charging. They negotiated with the parents after which the protest ended.

Meanwhile, the private schools’ association director Mansoor Siddiqui arrived at the school and held a meeting with the Karachi Public School principal. Siddiqui, however, was of the opinion that the protest was unjustified. “The parents should have contacted us first,” he said.

The students were not let out despite the school day coming to an end. After the protest began, the school’s administration sealed its gates due to security reasons. The children were let out of the school’s back door one hour and forty-five minutes after school ended.

Karachi Public’s administration has decided to withdraw their decision of increasing the fees, announced Adviser to Sindh Chief Minister on Education Naveed Zuberi, while talking to the media. “Action will be taken against those policemen who resorted to baton charge.”

Published in The Express Tribune, January 5^th, 2011.