IHC bars schools from receiving fee during vacations

Islamabad: Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) here on Friday through an interim order has restrained private educational institutions of Islamabad from receiving monthly fee from the students during summer vacations.

Secretary Capital Administration & Development Division (CADD) Furqan Bahadur Khan and Chairman Private Education Institutions Regulatory Authority (PEIRA) Hassanat Ahmed Qureshi appeared before the court and told that the Lahore High Court (LHC) completely while Peshawar High Court (PHC) partially restrained private educational institutions from receiving tuition fee etc during summer vacations.

IHC bench in its order noted that “The PEIRA is directed that all private educational institutions be restrained from receiving fee for the period of summer vacations till next date of hearing. Amount of fee already paid by the parents/students shall be adjusted against fee for the period after vacations.”

IHC bench has issued this order in the writ petition of one Jamshed Khan in his petition against a private schools chain Read Foundation. Petitioner adopted that the private schools remains closed during summer vacations and therefore they cannot collect tuition fee and other expenses from the students for that period.

On May 7, Justice Siddiqui had summoned secretary CADD and Chairman PEIRA asking them to apprise the court about this issue and today they told about the LHC and PHC decisions. Legal counsel for PEIRA said that the LHC has ordered the schools for waiving off the fee while PHC reduced 50 percent fee during the vacations period. A counsel told that some schools have already collected the fee. To which court directed that this may be adjusted for next months. Further hearing will be on June 20.