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Private school told to refund excess fee
Karachi, June 18, 2008: A three-member team comprising officials of the private
schools directorate, formed by Sindh Education Minister Pir Mazhar-ul-Haq to
check irregularities allegedly being committed in private schools, has issued a
notice to the administration of Mama Parsi Girls School, asking it to get its
second shift registered with the directorate and refund the excess amount that
has been allegedly charged from students under the head of admission fee within
seven days.
A senior official of the education department said that
the team during a surprise visit to the school found that its administration had
not got its second shift registered.
Under the Privately Managed
Educational Institutions Regulations (Amended) Act-2000, it is mandatory upon
all private schools to get their each shift and every chapter registered
separately with the directorate of private schools/institutions, otherwise, an
unregistered school is simply considered as a coaching centre.
Another
irregularity noted by the minister's team, the official said, was that the
school was charging Rs20,000 under the head of admission fee from each student,
whereas the maximum admission fee a private school could charge must be
equivalent to a sum of three-month tuition fee of its highest grade. He said the
school had not even got its fee structure approved from the directorate of
private schools.
The official said that the team had not only asked the
school's administration to get its second shift registered and fee structure
approved from the provincial directorate of private schools but also directed it
to refund the access amount that had been collected from students under the head
of admission fee.A detailed report containing irregularities detected at the
school had been submitted to the education minister and secretary for their
perusal, the official added.
Education budget
The Sindh
government, meanwhile, allocated Rs19.5 billion for the education sector in its
budget for the financial year 2008-09.
Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah,
who presented the budget in the assembly session on Monday, said that the
provincial share in the outgoing financial year's overall allocation of Rs47.9
billion for the education sector was Rs17 billion. It was increased by over 16
per cent to Rs19.5 billion, he said.
He said this financial year's
allocation for the overall education budget also included Rs5.9 billion for the
reforms supported by the World Bank and the European Commission.
Under
the reforms programme, he said, free textbooks would be provided to over five
million school children. Besides, Rs609 million was earmarked for scholarships
for girl students; Rs2.7 billion for school rehabilitation and Rs500 million for
supporting low-cost private schools.
He described education as the only
weapon with which poverty could be fought and said the provincial government
gave priority to the education sector as it could prove instrumental in bringing
about a social change.
Moreover, two engineering colleges, one for arts
and design and another of business administration would be set up in different
cities, he said, adding that Rs240 million was earmarked to rehabilitate
colleges.
About the education city project in Karachi, he said it was
examined after which it was decided that a dedicated education city authority
would be established to carry out development works for facilitating an enclave
of educational institutions of high standards.
Such a place was expected
to house many institutions of higher learning, besides triggering greater
economic activities and creating jobs.
Other projects to be undertaken in
each district include introduction of computer education in middle schools,
provision of additional class rooms in existing primary schools, construction of
two-room buildings in existing primary schools, upgrading primary and secondary
schools, promotion of compulsory education, construction of labs and libraries
in the existing secondary and higher secondary schools, restoration of
historical buildings of educational institutes, introduction of post-graduate
courses in the existing degree colleges, rehabilitation of the existing degree
colleges, construction and improvement of hostels, renovation of dinning halls
and other facilities at cadet colleges. Dawn
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