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Private schools cash in on academic session issue
Karachi, March 10, 2008: A number of private schools have arbitrarily increased
monthly tuition fee from February though tuition fee can only be raised at the
start of an academic session for which a prior permission from the authorities
concerned is prerequisite.
The next academic session in schools will
start from August 1 in Sindh, but several private schools took undue advantage
of the recent confusion over the change in academic calendar and started
charging enhanced tuition fee from February. These schools have also issued
raised fee bills to their students for the two months of summer vacation i.e.
June and July.
A controversy over the academic calendar started shortly
after the caretaker provincial minister for education announced that keeping in
view the wishes of parents and teachers the next academic session might be
rescheduled. It was stated that after consultation with all the stakeholders the
government might decide to start the next academic session from April 1 instead
of August 1. The confusion prevailed for about two months until the caretaker
federal education minister categorically stated that any decision about the
start of academic session would be taken by the elected
government.
However, some private schools, which had reportedly got
permission for an increase in tuition fee from the next academic session, took
an undue advantage of the controversy by charging enhanced fee from students
from February.
Mohammad Arsalan of the Friends Social
Organistion, a non-governmental organisation which bears education expenses of
children from the poor families, said that a private school located in Soldier
Bazaar area had increased tuition fee twice in the current academic year though
under the rules a private school could only raise it once in an academic
year.
He pointed out that it was mandatory upon private schools to have a
certain quota of free scholarships for the poor and deserving students. But,
there was hardly any private school meeting the requirement by offering free
education or even a concession in tuition fee to the poor and deserving
students. He complained that he had brought the issue to the notice of the
authorities concerned but no action had been taken against such schools so
far.
It is not only the arbitrary raise in monthly tuition fee but also
the demand of two months' fee in advance by private schools that has perturbed
the parents of school-goers.
"It is beyond our comprehension that when
the offices of private schools remain open during summer vacations why they
cannot accept the tuition fees of June and July from their students in the same
months," a parent remarked, adding that the education department and private
schools' management should realize how the parents having two or three
school-going children can afford to pay two months tuition fee of their wards at
once.
Parents of school-goers urge the education department to direct
private schools to permit students to pay their tuition fees of summer vacation
in June and July. Dawn
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| Education News | | Updated: 25 May, 2012 |
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