Increase in fees: PHC directs BISE to submit records of fines against private institutions

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Tuesday directed the Board of Intermediate and Secretary Education (BISE), Peshawar, to submit records about fines and actions against private educational institutions for violation of rules and regulations.

A two-member bench comprising Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth and Justice Ghazanfar Khan issued the notice to the BISE Peshawar chairman to submit complete report since 2001 today (Wednesday).

The bench issued directions in a writ petition filed by the Peshawar Bar Association (PBA) through its president Fazle Wahid against high increase in promotion and tuition fee, extra charges, and lack of facilities to students including libraries and playgrounds in private educational institutions.

A team of lawyers including Zulfiqar Khalil Khan, Abbas Khan Sangeen and Fazal Shah Mohmand appeared in the court.

During the course of hearing, the PBA lawyer Abbas Khan Sangeen informed the bench that private educational institutions in the province had started looting the parents as the private schools had increased promotion fees of the students from one class to another, which he termed unjustified and illegal. Besides, they said, tuition fee was also increased every year.

The lawyer also pointed out that the private schools were also collecting fee from the parents for three or two months’ vacations. Interestingly, he said, parents were also being charged for transportation during vacations although students did not use the facility in the vacations.

He added that after the Army Public School carnage, the private schools were also collecting Rs300 to Rs600 per month from the students in the name of schools security and in fact only one security guard with an old gun was only hired for security and thus earning in the name of security.

The lawyer said that under Article 25-A of Constitution, it was the state responsibility to provide free and uniform system of education to the citizens. 

He informed the bench that today government functionaries including Speaker Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, Asad Qaiser, owned Quaid-e-Azam Schools System, Minister for Higher Education Mushtaq Ghani owned Pine Hills Schools System and the Jamaat-e-Islami owned Qurtaba Schools System.

The lawyer submitted that due to influential government functionaries, the private schools system was hijacked as the private schools’ staff had been exempted from the KP Minimum Wages Act.

He also pointed out loopholes in the Regulatory Authority for the private educational institutions and submitted that the authority should be for strict control and regulation of these institutions.   

Zulfiqar Khalil submitted that the provincial government had passed the act in which the government had to establish Regulatory Authority for the private educational institutions.

However, he said, no step had been taken by the provincial government so far to appoint chairman and members for the Regulatory Authority to regulate the affairs of the private educational institutions.

The provincial government through KP chief secretary, secretary Elementary and Secondary Education and secretary Higher Education Department, vice-chancellor and registrar University of Peshawar, chairman Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education Peshawar and Private Schools Association and other educational institutions were made parties in the petition.