LHC restrains govt from acting against private schools

• Private schools association chief says govt will be held in contempt if it takes action against fee hike before court’s final verdict

The Lahore High Court (LHC), in an interim order, on Tuesday restrained the government from taking action against private schools, on their petitions challenging the Punjab Private Educational Institutions (Promotion and Regulation) (Amendment) Ordinance, 2015.

The ordinance was promulgated last month by the Punjab government with the approval of Governor Rafique Rajwana, after a series of agitation over fee hike by parents of students and members of civil society.

The interim order was passed by Justice Shamas Mehmood Mirza after hearing 15 identical petitions.

Representing the private schools, renowned lawyer Asma Jahangir argued that the ordinance clashed with the Article 25 of the Constitution. She said that an increased fee was meant to inculcate quality education to the youth.

One of the petitioners and the president of All-Pakistan Private Schools’ Association, Adeeb Jawdani, told Pakistan Today that the interim order passed by the court was a good omen for education considering the fact that private schools were sharing the burden of the state in providing quality education.

“Now the action against private schools by the government will be considered as contempt of court,” maintained Jawdani, who was made a member of the Registration Authority to regulate private schools by the city district government the other day.

He said that 97 per cent of private schools in the province charged a monthly fee of Rs 100 to Rs 1,500 and these schools were even providing education in remote areas where the state had failed to do so.

The ordinance barred private institutions from charging fee in the academic year 2015-2016 higher than they were charging during the academic year 2014-2015.

According to Jawdani, the promulgation of the ordinance during the ongoing academic year made no sense. He said it was a political gimmick of the incumbent government to gain public sympathy prior to the local bodies’ elections.

District Officer (DO) Education Shiekh Hasnaat Ahmed told Pakistan Today that before the passage of the interim order, more than 200 show-cause notices were served on the private schools that were charging an inflated fee. He said their future would be decided after taking the advice of the high-ups.

“We do not want to shutdown any school because this step will also be detrimental for the future of students studying there. A heavy fine may be a good option to regulate them,” he said.

Asked about the future of those schools that were issued notices after the court’s interim order, District Coordination Officer Captain (r) Usman said he would comment on it after receiving the orders from the court.

The LHC has sought replies from the district administration, secretary schools and Punjab government on November 5.