Citizens demand action against charging of annual school fees

Islamabad:Citizens of twin cities Rawalpindi and Islamabad on Tuesday demanded the quarters concerned to take notice of illegal charging annual fees by private schools.

In a bid to end financial exploitation, parents urged authorities concerned to take action against private schools that charge annual admission fees. They were of the view that many private schools were charging exorbitant annual fees, ranging from Rs5,000 to Rs50,000. The parents demanded that the relevant authority ensure transparency in the fee structures of private schools and prevent them from charging annual admission fees.

A mother of four, Saleeha Jabeen shared her struggles with private school admission fees saying ,”I’m at my wit’s end as a sole earner, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for me to afford the annual admission fees for all four of my children.” She told that was forced to shell out a significant portion of her income on admission fees, which can range from Rs5,000 to Rs50,000 or more per child adding that It’s like throwing money down the drain and not even sure what these fees are used for.

She said, “I had to make sacrifices, cut back on expenses, and even take out loans to pay for these fees and I fear that I won’t be able to afford it much longer”. She urged that It’s time for the authorities concerned to step in and regulate these fees adding that we need affordable education options for our children, not exploitative practices that bleed us dry.

Saqlain Khan, a father of two said, “We were fed up with paying annual admission fees, which was an additional financial burden on us, we request the authorities to intervene and regulate the fee structure of private schools.” He said public schools don’t charge annual fees, but private schools do it’’s unfair to charge us for something that’s free in public schools.