Islamabad - The private schools and education managers have agreed on 10 percent fee hike; however, the parents do not seem to be satisfied with the consensus.
The final approval rests with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and a summary proposing an increase of 10 percent in fee of private schools has been sent to him. The decision will be notified by the regulatory body of private schools after the approval of the prime minister who had taken notice of protests by the parents against the unbridled fee hikes, directing the education minister to resolve the issue amicably.
Minister for Education and Professional Training Baligh Ur Rehman chaired two different meetings yesterday regarding the issue of exorbitant fee hike by private schools with the representatives of private schools and other one with the parents association.
After thorough discussions the government and private schools representatives/ owners agreed on 10 percent hike in fee as the private schools had shown their inability to further reduce the hike in the face of rising annual costs.
Initially, the owners/representatives of private schools had proposed 12 to 15 percent increase in fee structure but the education managers did not agree and they were insisting to keep the hike at 7.5 percent.
Rehman had met with the representatives of private schools on Thursday as well asking them to draw a consensus and come up with an agreed formula for fee increase acceptable to all stakeholders or else the government would announce a unilateral decision on the matter. The minister and officials representing regulatory body of private schools had also proposed to relate the fee raise with the annual inflation rate notified by the government.
Faisal Mushtaq, chief executive of Roots Millennium School, said 10 percent increase is a minimum increase. “Teachers are given 10 percent increment every year, building rent is increased up to 10 percent and then there are logistics and administrative costs. So the owners have agreed unanimously to raise fee by 10 percent.” The owners said less than 10 percent increase would close down their schools.
However, Shazia Rashid, mother of a 7th grader at a private school, who has been leading the movement of “No Fee Till Low Fee” said 10 percent raise was also too much for parents. “It has to be calculated according to Consumer Price Index stated under the Act of Peira 2013.”
Officials fear with an increase of only 10 percent, quality of education and security in such elite schools would definitely be comprised. “The owners were of the view now they would have to review their expenditures on security, salary increments of teachers and student to teacher ratio,” said an official requesting not to be named. The elite private schools had increased fee in September from 12 to 25 percent that perturbed the parents who have been protesting against this unbridled hike and demanding a regulatory mechanism.
The Capital Administration and Development Division had also directed the elite private schools to reverse the recent hike in fee to the structure of the last month and resolve the issue with parents amicably. The Division on Friday again gave acting charge of the Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Authority (PEIRA) to joint secretary of CADD, Junaid Ikhlaq. Earlier, Joint Secretary Rukhsana Rehman was holding the acting charge of the body. Meanwhile, the Islamabad High Court yesterday suspended increase in fee of a private school of the federal capital.
Acting Chief Justice (CJ) of Islamabad High Court (IHC), Justice Noor-ul-Haq N Qureshi issued suspension orders on a petition of Adil Shah who had challenged the increase in school fee of his children studying in a private school Head Start. After suspending the increased fee, the single bench of IHC directed the said private school to charge fee from the students at old rates. In this matter, petitioner Adil Shah moved the court through his counsel Raja Saif-ur-Rehman Advocate and challenged the increase in the fee structure by a private school. In his petition, Shah cited Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Authority (PEIRA), Head Start school and federal ministry of education and professional training as respondents. The counsel for the petitioner contended before the court that under PEIRA Act 2013, it is duty of PEIRA to regulate affairs of private schools and increase in fee could not be done without approval of PEIRA. He argued that on the other hand, private schools had been increasing in the fee on their own without approval and there is no check on this activity, as PEIRA at this time is without chairman.
Adil Shah stated in the petition that his three sons are studying at the Head Start School. “The sudden increase in the fee has burdened him with unbearable load and providing education to the children has become a hard task,” added the father.
After suspending the fee challan, the IHC bench issued notices to the respondents and sought their reply in this connection.