Private schools told again to pay teachers’ salaries

The Directorate of Inspection and Registration of Private Institutions (Dirpis) Sindh on Thursday circulated another reminder directing the private school owners to pay full salaries to their teachers and non-teaching staff.

The notification read that the directorate had received a number of complaints from the parents over non-compliance with the 20 per cent concession in fee granted by the Sindh government and non-payment of salaries to the school staff. |The higher authorities have taken serious notice of the non-compliance with the directives issued on April 6.”

Dirpis told the administrations of the privately managed educational institutes that due to the lockdown in the current pandemic and in order to streamline the payment of fees by the parents and salaries to the staffers, it is once again directed that full salaries should be paid to the teaching and non-teaching staff of the private educational institutions. “If any school has collected full fees for the months of April and May 2020, the concession of 20 per cent, which is supposed to be granted in the aforesaid period, would be refunded or adjusted in the coming months.”

The parents were also advised that in order to avail the 20 per cent concession in tuition fee for two months, they should pay the fee so that the schools’ management could pay their staffers.

“In case of non-compliance, a strict action will be initiated against the private school owners under the Sindh Private Educational Institutions Registration and Control Ordinance, 2001, Amendment Act 2003 & Rules 2005.”

Dirpis Registrar Rafia Javed told The News that the directorate had received around 295 complaints from parents that said that private schools were not complying with the directives. She said some parents had stated that they had paid fees and the school owners refused to adjust the concession, due to which the directorate had to issue a new notification.

Various associations of the private schools have agreed on complying with the Sindh government orders regarding the 20 per cent concession in tuition fee for the months of April and May.