Private schools can’t increase tuition fee without govt’s approval, SHC told

The additional advocate general of Sindh on Monday opposed an increase by more than five percent in tuition fees by private schools and contended that the schools could not increase the fees without approval from the competent authority.

A full bench headed by Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi of the Sindh High Court was hearing identical petitions against increases in tuition fees by private schools in violation of the Sindh Private Educational Institutions (Regulation and Control) Ordinance 2001.

Bushra Jabeen, Arshad Fawad, Mohammad Shariq Feroz and 600 other parents who challenged the tuition fee increases in the four private schools in violation of the ordinance.

They said their children were studying at the four private schools situated in KDA Scheme, Gulistan-e-Jauhar and Qasimabad, and the administrations of the schools had increased the tuition fees by 12 to 60 per cent in violation of the law.

Additional Advocate General Shabbir Shah submitted that the government had authority to regulate the private schools with regard to increasing tuition fees and the schools could only increase the fees with the approval of the competent authority as per the relevant laws.

He further submitted that the private schools could not increase their fees by more than five per cent. The court observed that providing free and compulsory education to all children from ages 5 to 16 was the responsibility of the state, but unfortunately the government was not fulfilling its responsibility, and as a result private educational institutions were operating for the purpose.

The counsel for the schools submitted that the SHC had already decided the instant case in another petition and his clients were satisfied with the judgment in which the court had struck down the rule with regard to the five per cent fee increase limit and had ordered the government to frame rules within 90 days.

The petitioner’s counsel submitted that another bench of the SHC had upheld the rule that capped the tuition fee increase at five per cent, but some private schools were receiving more than five per cent increased fees from the students in violation of the court orders.

After hearing the arguments of the counsel, the bench adjourned the hearing till May 31 and in the meantime extended the interim stay order that said the private schools’ administrations should not take any action to increase the fees or otherwise prejudicial to any student whose parent or guardian was among the petitioners in the instant case, including and in particular but not limited by way of action on the reminder notices sent to the parents or guardians in relation to the enhanced fees.

Another bench of the SHC on March 5 had quashed a rule of the government that restricted the private educational institutions to increasing their fees by only up to five per cent, and directed the government to frame the relevant rules within 90 days, if it wished to regulate private school fee hikes.

Rules yet to made

A report on May 8 had said the committee formed by Sindh’s school education department to frame rules and rationalise the annual increase in private school fees in the light of a SHC decision could not finalise its recommendations.

The committee, which has convened four formal meetings since it was established on April 2, includes the Directorate of Inspection and Registration of Private Institutions Sindh’s (DIRPIS) director general, Mansoob Hussain Siddiqui, Deputy Secretary Ihsanullah Laghari, DIRPIS Registrar Rafia Jawed, head of curriculum Dr Fouzia Khan, Ameena Saiyid of Oxford University Press and Dr Akbar Yezdani.

According to the term of references, it was decided by the department that the committee would submit its recommendations to the SELD secretary within 45 days. The last meeting of the committee was held on May 3, 2018, and the members submitted their suggestions to the director general.

Dr Akbar Yezdani, one the committee members, said deliberations were still under way and suggestions from all stakeholders had been submitted and were being discussed. He said parents and schools, however, agreed on an inflationary mechanism, the details of which were still being worked out but no decision had been finalised as yet.

“Some misleading rumors have been circulating on media regarding the finalisation of certain decisions, which are completely false and baseless. No decisions have been made and nothing has been finalised as yet.”

All Sindh Parents’ Association Joint Secretary Hamood ur-Rub Jaffry, addressing a joint press conference with representatives of the private schools association at the Karachi Press Club, had said more meetings of the committee had been scheduled for further discussion.

He said that if any decision was made by the committee with consensus, all stakeholders would sign the summary of new rules and a final notification would be officially issued, but till then whatever was circulating in the media were mere rumors.