Sindh reminds private schools to pay in full to employees despite virus lockdown

KARACHI: Private school owners in the province have to pay full salaries of teachers and non-teaching staffers despite a virus lockdown, said the Directorate of Inspection and Registration of Private Institutions in Sindh (Dirpis) on Thursday in a circular. 

The reminder also states a number of complaints have been received from students' parents over non-compliance of an order asking schools for a 20% concession in tuition fees granted by the Government of Sindh amid a virus lockdown, as well as nonpayment of salaries of the school staff.

"The higher authorities have taken serious notice of the noncompliance of the directives issued on April 6," it notes.

Addressing administrators of the privately managed educational institutes, the Dirpis officials said that in order to streamline the payment of fees by the parents and salaries to the staffers, it is once again directed that full salaries should be paid to the teaching and nonteaching staff of private educational institutions.

“If any school has collected full fees for the months of April and May, 2020, the concession of 20%, which is supposed to be granted in the aforesaid period, would be refunded or adjusted in the coming months with the consent of the parents," it states.

Parents have also been advised that in order to avail 20% concession in tuition fees for the two months, they should pay the fees so that the schools' administrators can pay their staffers as well. “In case of noncompliance, a strict action will be initiated against the private school owners under the Sindh Private Educational Institutions Registration and Control Ordinance, 2001, Amendment Act 2003 & Rules 2005," the order warns.

Commenting on the issue, Dirpis Registrar Rafia Javed told The News that the directorate has received around 295 complaints in which parents have stated that private schools were not complying with the directives. She said that some parents have stated that they have paid fees and school owners refused them an adjustment. This is why the new circular has been issued to rectify the matter.

On Wednesday, private schools' owners had rejected the 20% cut directive and said they would go to court against it. Sindh Minister for Education Saeed Ghani on Wednesday afternoon tried to explain the decision and said that they will take private schools in confidence over it.