Parents of children studying at the English section of the Pakistan International School in Rehab (PISJ-ES)are in dishevelment after the school hiked its fees, which were already considered high compared to other community schools.
Khalid Cheema, the father of a student at the school, said that many parents will not be able to afford the fee hike. “A parents’ management committee should be formed to examine such matters from a parents’ point of view,” he said.
“School fees were already high and school authorities increased them by more than 20 percent, which is not affordable for an average Pakistani. The school is a community school. The consulate and embassy should interfere and find out why this has happened. They should also check the entire system of the school, as many issues need to be rectified,” he said.
He said that fees were SR900 for primary school, which school authorities increased to SR1,100, while secondary school fees are even higher. Even the bus fees increased to SR 300 per month.
“There is no one to ask what is going on at the school. The consulate should monitor the fee payment system,” he added.
He requested the consulate to find a school principal that would be present at the school. “Principals should be around all the time and not spend half their time in Pakistan. This affects the school system and children’s’ education,” he added.
Another father, Mohammed Ilyas, said that the increment in school fees would affect the education of their children. Parents have nowhere to complain, he said.
“This increment is not fair on parents, as we were already paying high fees. School authorities have increased them without any notice or concern for parents. We are also paying for extra-curricular activities and tuition out of school. Where is an average Pakistani to find such money? This is a community school. Even the price of books and uniforms have increased,” he said.
He requested to bring the fees back to the previous level so the education of many children would not be affected.
Another father, Fiyaz Husain, said “a parent who has two or three children at school can’t afford the fees and this will impact the education of many children,” he said.
An ex-parent committee member, Athar Ali Bokhari, told Arab News that the previous committee was dissolved in 2007 and that there had been no committee in the school since then.
Pakistani Consul General Aftab Khokher told Arab News that parents can send him a written request about their problems and the fee hike, as well as to the Ministry of Education. The consulate will look into the matter and try to resolve it.
“The Ministry of Education gave permission to international schools to increase their fees if required. Technically, they gave permission, but we will look into the increase. We cannot take action unless parents come forward,” he explained.
“Parents should also not bring any politics into the school. We are trying to bring things back on the right track. The Pakistani ambassador already sent a request to the Ministry of Education for the improvement of the parents’ management committee. We requested removing the condition that stipulates that only parents can participate in this committee so qualified people can take care of issues,” he said.
Arab News called PISJ-ES to discuss these complaints with authorities. The school administration not only refused to talk to Arab News but was told not to call again.