Deliberately ignoring Supreme Court’s explicit rulings, some schools in Karachi have issued fee vouchers for June and July to students on Monday. Parents, already disgruntled over the excessive fees, were thrust with vouchers of January fee and of vacations.
It is pertinent to recall that on Dec 13, the SC ordered private schools to cut their fees by 20 percent and return the 50 percent of the amount they received during summer vacations. Last week, Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar ordered to file a case against private school owners refusing to cut down monthly fees after court orders.
The CJP remarked that private schools had now started to protest after the court ordered cut in fee which was ‘increased manifold’ by the schools. “We have an idea that the private schools are now reacting to the apex court decision,” he added.
Lawyers of private schools, Deputy Auditor General and Chairman FBR also appeared before the bench. Supreme Court Bar President Amanullah, expressed his opinion that schools had now started ‘disturbing students’. In addition, secretary law informed the court that apart from 22 schools, all others had refused to cut down fee while recalling that SC order was imposed on schools receiving more than Rs 5,000 fee.
However, the counsel of a private school held that all institutions were implementing the court orders saying, ‘Our director has also arrived to the court today.’ CJP while inquiring, “Why your owner didn’t make it to the court,” added that when owners appear before the court, the situation gets settled. He pointed out to a previous settlement, “We summoned the owners of sugar mills and the issue was resolved subsequently.”
He further told that the court would clarify its order; the fee directives were issued to schools charging more than Rs 5,000 as monthly fee.
Published in Daily Times, January 15th 2019.
