Govt doing nothing to save education system, says SHC

The Sindh High Court on Tuesday observed that the government was doing nothing to save the education system, and, a as result, public sector schools and education institutes were on the verge of decline.

Hearing identical petitions against increases in tuition fees in private schools in violation of the Sindh Private Educational Institutions (regulation and control) Ordinance 2001, a division bench headed by Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi observed that there was a need for a comprehensive policy not only for fee regulations but also for the entire education system so that parents were not compelled to pay higher fees in private education institutions.

It further observed that the government should decide whether imparting education was an industry or a basic fundamental right of the citizens. It said it had to examine both aspects separately.

Bushra Jabeen, Arshad Fawad, Mohammad Shariq Feroz and 600 other parents have challenged tuition fee increases by four private schools in violation of the ordinance. They say their children are studying at the private schools situated in KDA Scheme, Gulistan-e-Jauhar and Qasimabad, and the schools’ administrations have increased the tuition fee by 12 to 60 per cent in violation of the ordinance.

The court inquired a provincial law officer what the justification was for receiving from 100,000 to 200,000 in the name of admission and registration fees. It observed that providing free and compulsory education to all children from age 5 to 16 was the responsibility of the state and asked how private education institutions could be allowed to increase tuition fees without any criteria.

The counsel for the schools submitted that the SHC had already decided the instant case in another petitions and his clients were satisfied with the judgment in which the court had struck down the rule with regard to the 5 per cent cap on increasing in the tuition fee and had ordered the government to frame relevant rules within 90 days.

The petitioners’ counsel submitted that another bench of the high court had upheld the rule that capped the fee rise to 5 per cent, but some private schools had increased the fee by more than 5 per cent in violation of the court orders. The provincial law officer said the government had constituted a committee, giving it terms of reference in light of the SHC judgment to examine the fee structure in consultation with all stakeholders.

The bench referred the matter to the chief justice of the high court for the constitution of a larger bench to decide the issue. The court in the meantime extended the interim stay order barring the private schools’ administrations from taking any action to increase the tuition fee or action which could otherwise be prejudicial to any student whose parent or guardian was a petitioner in the case.