LAHORE - The Lahore High Court has restrained the government from taking coercive action against the private schools which are charging heavy fees.
Private schools had filed petitions in LHC and challenged the Punjab Private Educational Institutions and Regulations (amendment) Ordinance 2015. Rights’ activist Asma Jahangir and Advocate Shahid Hamid Khan appeared on behalf of the private schools.
The counsels told the judge that the schools did not force parents to pay heavy fee; they charged fee with their consent. The counsels contented that many sections of the ordinance were also against the Constitution. They prayed the court to set aside the ordinance.
After hearing the initial arguments, Justice Shams Mahmood Mirza of the LHC restrained the Punjab government from taking strict against private schools over the increase of fee and sought reply from it by Nov 5.
Before the LHC restrained the action, the district officer coordination, Sundas Irshad, had said the registration Authority was issuing notices to private schools for not returning the additional fee to the parents.
Chairing a meeting on Monday, she said the owners of private schools would be issued notices for appearing before the Registration Authority on October 14.
Adeeb Jawadani, a representative of private schools, who also attended the meeting, alleged the decision was politically motivated and aimed at securing votes in Local Bodies elections.
Private schools conservatively educate more than 50 per cent of children in Pakistan, and nearly 60 per cent in Punjab. There are 173110 private schools in all over the Pakistan, in which there are 97810 in Punjab; 32850 in Sind; 24660 in KPK; 5880 in Baluchistan; 2380 in Islamabad ICT and 9450 private schools working in Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan and others areas of Pakistan.