Sindh in beginning, then Punjab and now the federal regulatory authority of private schools on Wednesday directed educational institutions to give 20 percent concession in fees as the institutions are closed due to coronavirus pandemic in the country. In a letter, available with Daily Times, Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Authority (PEIRA) Islamabad issued Standard Operating Procedure (SOPs) for all Private Educational Institutions (PEIs) in the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT). In the letter, the authority directed schools for provision of 20 percent fee discount to the parents as a relief for the months of April and May. The PEIRA has declared mandatory practical implementation in the letter.
However, according to the notification, the concession is not applicable for the PEIs charging fee less than Rs 5,000 a month. The many parents criticized this move of the regulatory authority while saying that such relief would only cover parents whom children are enrolled in elite school. They added that this notification useless for poor or middle class parents who usually use to get admit their children in the schools charging minimum fee that generally below than Rs 5000 monthly. A parent Hamid Khan, who also represents some group of parents fighting various court cases against private schools for charging high fees, said this direction of PEIRA is mere an ‘eye wash’ and its nothing to do with an ordinary person. “Why the relief was not across the board like in Punjab and Sindh”, he asked federal government explaining that a vast majority of over 350,000 students is enrolled in low fee schools. “Low fee schools’ parents are agitating by this surprising decision of the education and PEIRA”, he claimed and demanded for similar relief across the board. He said there is an the uncertain economic situation in the country due to that due to COVID-19 spread while non-existent regulatory oversight, the Supreme Court judgement yet not implemented by schools. In the judgment, the superior court had directed refund of excessive charged fee from parents from January 2017.
PEIRA orders 20% fee concession
Sindh in beginning, then Punjab and now the federal regulatory authority of private schools on Wednesday directed educational institutions to give 20 percent concession in fees as the institutions are closed due to coronavirus pandemic in the country. In a letter, available with Daily Times, Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Authority (PEIRA) Islamabad issued Standard Operating […]
