The summer vacation fee dilemma continues as it reaches all parts of Pakistan. With reference to our previous blog “Summer Vacation Fees: To Pay or Not to Pay?” the issue was raised in Lahore, Karachi and Peshawar. Well good news for Islamabad, the Islamabad High Court has barred private schools from charging tuition fee during the summer vacation.

A written order has been issued by The Islamabad High Court where Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui has ordered Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Authority (PEIRA) to stop private schools from charging any tuition fee during the summer break until the next hearing.

Schools are resisting these orders. In Punjab many schools are not following the notification regarding summer fees. The notification enforced schools to close from May 17 to August 10. Some schools are asking students to come to school without uniform so that they cannot be identified as open!

Parents are concerned about these issues and are registering complains with the Deputy Commissioner and CEO of the District Education Authority.

Schools will keep on fighting such orders while parents will continue demanding these orders to be followed. As discussed in the previous blog both the parties have their concerns i.e. schools need to pay rent, teachers’ pay etc while parents would like to spend this money somewhere else. And for both these issues we offered some recommendations like the KPK government asking parents to pay 50% of the fee during summer vacations.

The concerned parties need to sit down and work together to resolve this matter. It is the education of our children at stake. Parents need to accommodate the school for its hard work while schools must understand that paying the tuition fee of a private school is not easy for many parents from the middle class who wish to give quality education to their children. At the same time the government needs to come up with a workable solution that helps both the parties in the long run e.g. provide buildings to private schools with subsidized rent. If the government cannot provide quality education to its citizens, it can at least support private schools in fulfilling their jobs.

Further the government must keep a check on private schools that are charging unreasonable amounts in the name of education. We are not categorizing all private schools but some schools are simply running businesses and hoarding parents. I fail to understand what a five year old will do with stationary worth Rs.10,000 over a period of 9 months! This amount is charged as stationary charges which is provided by the school and is added to the tuition fee in the beginning of the term.

So please an appeal to the government and non-government organizations, conduct research, check and question these schools for their system of charging tuition fee and other costs. As a parent are you satisfied with your child’s/children’s school’s fee system? If not, you need to collaborate with other parents and raise your voice against this matter in time.

If you are a parent and have such concerns and/or wish to make some suggestions to address this issue, please share them with us. We would be glad to hear them!