Parents demand 50% discount in schools’ fees for lockdown months

TIMERGARA: Parents of students studying at private educational institutions in Lower Dir district on Friday demanded the Private Schools Regulatory Authority (PSRA) to issue proper notification regarding at least 50 percent discount in tuition fees for the last six months since the lockdown.

The demand was made during a meeting of parents held at a local hotel in Ziarat Talash. More than 300 of the parents of private schools’ students attended the meeting. Speaking on the occasion, former tehsil nazim Riaz Muhammad, Nasir Khan, Shad Muhammad, Noor Muhammad and others complained that owners and management of the private schools were forcing them to pay tuition fees along with arrears for the last seven months. The parents complained that like private schools, they also suffered themselves during the lockdowns. They said the schools’ administration had been mentally harassing the students for fee submission.

The parents were of the view that PSRA had issued 10 per cent and 20 per cent concession in fees of children but it was not enough. Majority of the parents rejected the 10 and 20 per cent concession given by the PSRA and said that their children had not been taught for the last six months.

They said they had arranged tutors for their children and had paid them during the pandemic. They demanded at least 50 per cent discount in tuition and promotion fees of their children. The parents threatened to come onto the roads and also move the court if their demand was not met.