Representatives of private schools protest against ordinance

Rawalpindi
Like other parts of Punjab, the representatives of private schools staged a protest demonstration outside the Rawalpindi Press Club (RPC) here on Thursday to pressurise the government for withdrawal of the ordinance against high fees charged from parents.
The protest rallies were organised throughout the province on the call of All-Pakistan Private Schools Management Association (APPSMA) against the ordinance enforced by the Punjab government, barring private schools from charging huge fees from students.
The divisional president of APPSMA, Rawalpindi, Ibrar Ahmed Khan, led the demonstration staged outside the Rawalpindi Press Club along with Mohammad Furqan Chaudhry, Advocate Ibrar Ahmed and Private Schools Network (PSN) President Dr. Afzal Babar besides a large number of schoolteachers and other staff members. The representatives of APPSMA had come from Kalar Syedan, Taxila, Kotli Sattian and other far-flung areas of the Rawalpindi division.
Addressing the demonstrators, APPSMA Divisional President Ibrar Ahmed Khan and Private Schools Network President Dr. Afzal Babar as well as other office-bearers castigated the provincial government for enforcing the ordinance against private schools. They informed that APPSMA Central President Adeeb Jawadni has challenged the ordinance in the Lahore High Court.
Ibrar Ahmed Khan claimed that only selected educational institutions running privately were claiming huge fees from students. The matter of claiming huge fees was related to only those private schools which increase fees by 100% annually but the Punjab government has enforced the ordinance on owners of all private schools. “The imposition of the ordinance on all private schools is unjustified,” Ibrar said.
In his address, Dr Afzal Babar said that the owners of private schools pay handsome amount of taxes to the government and with the establishment of private academic institutions the government generates huge revenue of around Rs50 billion every year. Half of the educational expenses are met by the government through taxes of private schools. However, with the enforcement of the ordinance, the economic balance would be disturbed, he claimed. At present, he said, owners of private academic institutions are paying around 20 different kinds of taxes to the government.
Mohammd Farqan Chaudhry, in his address, alleged that the Punjab government announced the ordinance in haste and the representatives of private schools and their associations were not approached and consulted.