Fee hike causes suspension of two more private schools’ registration

The Directorate of Inspection & Registration of Private Institutions Sindh (Dirpis) of the School Education & Literacy Department (Seld) on Tuesday suspended the registration of some 40 campuses of the Foundation Public School and 16 of the Head Start School System across the province for violating court orders regarding fee hike.

The directorate had repeatedly asked the administrations of these schools to comply with the court’s decision barring private schools from increasing tuition fees by more than five per cent of the last fee schedule, but they ignored the official instructions.

“Until the implementation of the court’s ruling, the registration of these schools will remain suspended,” said Dirpis Secretary Rafia Javed. She said the directorate has the mandate to enforce the education department’s rules and regulations.

“The officials are committed to implementing the court’s decision at any cost. If any of these schools fail to comply with the orders, their registrations will be cancelled permanently.”

Blackmail

The All Sindh Parents Association (Aspa) revealed during a news conference that a number of private schools are still charging increased fees, claiming that some of the school administrations are threatening parents with their children’s expulsions if they do not pay the fees.

Aspa’s representatives demanded that Dirpis officials take strict action against the schools that are blackmailing parents into paying excess fees.

Suspensions

On November 14, Dirpis had suspended the registration of the Beaconhouse School System, the City School network and the Smart Schools for violating court orders regarding fee hike.

Seld Media Coordinator Saeed Memon said his department had written to the administrations of these schools five times, asking them to implement the decisions of the Supreme Court and the Sindh High Court (SHC), but they had been non-compliant.

On September 4, the directorate had sent a circular to private schools warning them against increasing fees by more than five per cent a year, and telling them to implement the SHC’s September 3 ruling.