Islamabad - The Islamabad High Court (IHC) yesterday issued notice to Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) in a petition seeking its directions to appoint the chairman of Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Authority (PEIRA).
A single bench of IHC comprising Justice Athar Minallah conducted the hearing of the petition wherein the court was requested to direct the government for the appointment of Chairman PEIRA and make it functional.
The court issued notices to CADD and office in-charge of PEIRA and directed them to submit their reply in this matter within a fortnight.
The petitioner Ruqia Azhar moved the court through her counsel Yasir Mahmood Chaudhary and cited secretary ministry of CADD and office in-charge of PEIRA as respondents.
In her petition, Ruqia adopted that no permanent chairman of the authority has been appointed since May 2013. As a result, the PEIRA has been virtually become non-functional and in absence of any check and balance, the private schools operating in the federal capital are charging high fee. He maintained that due to high fees of these private schools, parents of students are facing severe problems.
Therefore, he prayed to the court to issue directions for the appointment of permanent chairman of PEIRA and make it functional for controlling the rising fee structures of private schools operating in federal capital so that future of students studying in these institutions could be saved and secured.
The act of PEIRA was passed from both the houses of parliament and signed by the then president of Pakistan during March 2013; however, the rules of the act are still lying with Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) for approval.
According to an official source, PEIRA which is working without a permanent chairman since May 2013, neither registered any private school during the current year nor issued renewal certificate to any institute. The authority was established in the year 2006 with a mandate to control, register and regulate the private educational institutions; however, it could not function earlier due to lack of powers and now it is non-functional due to absence of a permanent chairman.