Thousands of private schools in KP resist reforms

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) provincial government has launched efforts to regulate about 15,000 private schools in the province, which has brought a strong reaction from the schools’ administration.
“Private schools have been asked not to charge transport fees during [summer] vacations,” said Zaffar Ali Shah, managing director of the Private Schools Regulatory Authority (PSRA).
He said the schools have also been directed to “charge half-fees during vacations” and to reduce the fee in case of second or more siblings studying at the same institution.
Adil Razzaq, president of the Hub of Private Education, an association of private schools in KP, said they have moved the Supreme Court against the High Court verdict validating the PSRA directives. The petition will be heard on July 12, he told Arab News.
“The High Court also directed the private schools to charge half-fees from more than one sibling at the same school and not to charge tuition and transport fees in vacations. This is our main objection,” he added.
“The private schools association may decide to close the schools for an indefinite period if the Supreme Court does not review the High Court decisions,” he added.
PSRA is holding meetings with the representatives of private educational institutions to resolve the issue.
“Previously, the private institutions were registered by educational boards (of intermediate and secondary education) in KP, but since the enactment of the Private Schools Regulatory Authority Act 2017, all the schools now fall under the authority,” said Shah.
The regulatory authority was set up in December 2017.
Most of the parents have lauded the establishment of the regulatory authority.
Sabir Aman, whose son studies at a private school in Peshawar, said he pays a monthly fee of Rs6,800 ($55.87) to the school.
“There is no implementation of the directives at private schools and they are charging full fees in vacations as well. I paid a fee for June and will also pay for July during summer vacations,” he said.
The management of private schools asserts that the institution incurs expenditure even during vacations.
“We regularly pay salaries to teachers and also pay electricity bills during vacations. Why we should reduce the fee in these months?” said Shakir Ali, principal of Kiran Model School.
“Some of the big school systems are considered highly expensive, charging the parents heavily. It is OK to implement the rule of half-fees on them in vacations, but our school charges between 100 and 2,000 rupees in fees, which is already a small amount. Implementing this rule on us is unfair,” he added.
President of Peshawar Bar Association, Wakeel Zaman advocate, said it is unfair to charge tuition and transport fees during vacations and added that he supported the high court verdict in this regard.
However, Shah said the PSRA is categorizing private institutions in consultations with the private schools’ association representatives and will set the rules as per the financial condition of a school.
“We do not want to discourage private schools but we want to regulate them and ensure that they provide quality education and facilities within their available resources,” the official said.
He said the government was also expanding the authority’s reach by setting up offices in all the districts of KP to ensure the implementation of its directives.
“Currently, complaints against private schools can be lodged at independent monitoring units of KP Elementary and Secondary Education Department in all districts of KP,” said Shah.