Private Schools Reject Fee Waiver Announced by Federal Govt

The federal government directed the private educational institutions of Islamabad to provide a 20% fee waiver against which the Private Schools Association (PSA) approached Islamabad High Court (IHC) but was turned down.

On the other hand, parents are of the view that schools have conducted physical classes for a brief period amid coronavirus pandemic, and collecting full fee in such circumstances was inappropriate and tantamount to cruelty.

Whereas, PSA claims around 270,000 private educational institutions are affected amid pandemic with 30,000 schools closed and millions of teachers unemployed.

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Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Authority (PEIRA) directed all private schools in Islamabad to offer 20% fee waiver in April and May fees.

PSA approached IHC against the notification of PEIRA and maintained that the school management were paying rentals for the buildings, teachers were paid for taking online classes, and the overall cost is the same as before.

The association demanded to withdraw the decision regarding fee reduction.

However, IHC rejected the application.

News360 contacted parents who were of the view that the fees should be further reduced due to severe economic crisis in the country.

On the other hand, a teacher from a reputable school maintained that despite charging full fees from students, most of the teachers remained unpaid.

“No laptops were provided to the teachers and they have been paying for the internet on their own”.

Central President of All Pakistan Private Schools and Colleges Association (APPSCA), Malik Abrar Hussain, in an exclusive interview with News360 saidq thousands of teachers and schools weee suffering due to recent crisis.

He demanded the government to provide relief package for the institutions to grant reductions in the fees.

Malik Abrar Hussain also urged that teachers and students be provided with the vaccine on a priority basis.

“Pakistan has the highest number of child laborers and the closure of schools due to the coronavirus pandemic pandemic has further increased the number of their number”, he added.

The government had promised that the closed educational institutions would be revived and interest-free loans would be given to the school administration to provide salaries to teachers. But these promises could not be fulfilled, maintained Abrar Hussain.

Malik Abrar Hussain said that the government should take into account the ground realities while making decisions. If more educational institutions got closed, the number of out-of-school children will further increase, he warned.