Minister warns private school managements against fees hike

Minister of State for Education and Professional Training Muhammad Baligh-ur-Rahman on Tuesday said that private schools would not be allowed to increase fees and warned that strict action would be taken against violation of government directions.

Addressing a press conference, the minister assured the parents that private schools’ management would not be allowed to increase the education fee for the year 2015. Rahman said that the process of rationalisation of fee would be made transparent in future as the rules and regulations were there to check the hike.

He said the that schools were raising their fees for many years, however, they would not be allowed to do so anymore without prior permission from Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Authority (PEIRA).The minister said that PEIRA has started functioning properly and its temporary charge has been given to Joint Secretary Education Muhammad Junaid to further improve its role and efficiency.

He also asked private schools to cooperate with the government in this regard and directed them to return the fee of the next semester that the student shad been charged.

He said private schools who failed to impart quality education while charging heavy fees were indulging in wrong practices. The minister said that following the federal government the governments of Punjab and Sindh have also taken steps to stop the hike in the fees.

He said that the government was committed to ensuring quality education, adding that private schools were also ready to follow PEIRA rules in this regard.

Replying to a question the minister said that all unregistered schools and colleges would be registered.

Member National Assembly (PML-N) Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhary said that about 50 per cent of children were studying in the private schools and a similar number of students were in government institutions.

While appreciating the services of private schools for promoting education, he expressed the hope that these schools would also implement the decisions of the government.