Schools issue advance fee vouchers in violation of govt rules, court orders

The private schools that had received permission from the Directorate of Inspection and Registration of Private Institutions Sindh on Thursday for its opening admin offices to collect fees so that they could pay the salaries of the staffers have issued vouchers to the parents for the collection of three fees in advance violating the government rules.

As per the available information, many of these private schools' administrators have asked the parents to submit fess of March, April and May. One of such circulars reads: “Parents are requested to submit advance fee of May, April and March and don’t pay additional visits to schools. The schools will be remained closed until May."

However, before the closures of Dirpis Director General Mansoob Hussain Siddiqui had warned such schools and barred them from collecting advance fees. The notification he had issued reads: "It has been observed with great concern that the administration of privately managed schools are forcing the students studying in their schools to submit advance fees. These schools are hereby directed to immediately withdraw the fee vouchers they issued to parents for paying advance fee.”

He had said that if they such schools were found collecting advance fees, strict action would be taken against them. Likewise, in the last steering committee meeting in which it was decided to keep the schools closed until May, the provincial minister for education had also directed the private schools' owners to collect only a one-month fee from the parents.

The minister had pointed out that the collection of advance fees was a violation of a Sindh High Court verdict, and if any school violated the court order, it would be dealt with strictly.

However, on Friday a number of parents registered their complaints with Dirpis regarding vouchers telling them to pay advance fees.

The Dirpis DG told The News that we have been collecting data of schools which are violating the government and court orders. When the offices start working after the coronavirus crisis, each and every case will be heard, and strict action will be taken against the violators, he added.