KARACHI, July 1: The Sindh Ombudsman has highlighted the need for an effective government control over fee structures of private educational institutions.

These educational institutions have turned into an industry surfacing in every residential locality. Uncontrolled fee structures are making it difficult for middle class parents to educate their children, and are a cause of increasing corruption.

In his “Annual Report 2002” the ombudsman has mentioned some landmark decisions providing relief to people, and in the sector where he is unable to move for want of any provision in law he has made recommendations to the governor as to how to go about it.

In his recommendations the ombudsman has drawn attention to the role of influential persons who manipulated and turned the laws in their favour.

He has asked the education department to take action against hundreds of unregistered private schools functioning in the province and charging exorbitant fees. He recalled that he had ordered those schools to get themselves registered till January 2002 under the Sindh Non-Recognized Educational Institutions Ordinance 1962, which says that the rates of tuition fees and subscriptions charged by them shall not be in excess of the scales prescribed or approved by the education department.

Instead of strengthening this clause, the governor introduced new ordinance, “The Sindh Private Educational Institutions (Regulation and Control) Ordinance 2001”. The above clause was replaced under Section-6(II), which states, “The fee structure of an institution shall not be interfered by the registering authority, but fee shall not be increased during the course of an academic year.”

“It is disturbing to note that the ordinance of 1962 was repealed and replaced by the Private Educational Institutions (Regulation and Control) Ordinance 2002 under which the registering authority shall not interfere with the fee structure of the educational institutions.

The ombudsman said that reintroduction of effective control of government over fee structures of private schools would reduce the level of corruption.