Education excesses

This refers to the letter, ‘The real price of education’ (September 20) by M Sadiq Swati. Neutrally speaking, private schools are justified in demanding fees for the services they are providing. But when they decide to go for a sudden increase in fees, parents expect a proportionate increase in the quality of education and services. But we see that this link is missing. If private schools are charging fees keeping in view inflation and cost per child, then they should also reward employees with a similar increase in salaries.
If parents want better education for their children they have no other option but to opt for private schools. There is no kinship, no scholarship and no financial support available to them. They have to bow down before the money-making policy of private schools. Moreover, parents are also paying extra charges which do not apply to their children in some cases. Are parents of a child studying in kindergarten bound to pay science and computer lab charges? Or should the cost incurred on the construction of a new school building be collected from parents through fee vouchers and challan forms? There is a need to provide constitutional safeguards against such excesses.
Fajar Butt
Lahore