January 11, 2006	Wednesday	Zilhaj 10, 1426

KARACHI, Jan 10: The Sindh Education Department has failed to restrain the privately managed schools in the city from receiving tuition fees in advance, said educational circle.

A number of private schools through circulars or verbal orders have been asking their students to submit tuition fees for the two or three months of summer vacation despite the fact that the education department had very clearly stated last year that schools were not allowed to collect tuition fees in advance.

Parents complained of undue demands by school managements with regard to collection of monthly tuition fees, and said some of the schools recently appeared stubborn on the issue and expressed that they wanted compliance of their circular regarding advance fee collections by parents.

Schools have demanded of the students or parents to pay fee for May and June, during which the schools will remain closed in connection with summer vacation, with the tuition fee for January and February positively.

Parents said such demands overburdened parents but the Sindh Education Department which had introduced a policy against this business had been proving ineffective. The department should take cognizance of the illegal demands by the private school managements, which created many other complications as well.

According to educational circle, the Sindh Education department had in March 2005 debarred the schools in the private sector from collecting tuition fees from students in advance.

The official notification pertaining to the decision of eliminating the advance fee collection system said the private schools would not charge any fee under any head in advance in the future. They will simply charge the monthly fee for the current month up to 10th without charging any late fee.

Last year the education department had also asked the parents to inform it if its directives pertaining to fee collections were violated by schools.

The advance fee collection also created problems for parents considering shifting their wards from one schools to another. One parent said that final examinations for classes up to 8th in schools weree likely to be held in April-May, while results would be out in mid-May, and as such any decision regarding the shifting or transfer of students would be taken by parents in May or after it.

The demand for advance payment of fees by the managements is aimed at extracting the maximum from parents and not allowing them to think about leaving a school, otherwise schools would lose business, said many a parent and that if the advance payment phenomenon was not checked, parents deciding to shift their wards from one school to another would have to pay the fees for June and July at both the old and new schools.

It was further said that as the private schools had got teams of finance and accounting personnel, they should not demand any advance payment. The private management could ask its staff to sit in the office during the first 10 days of June and July to collect the fees, suggested a parent.

Parents also claimed that a number of schools also preferred to collect tuition fees of 12 months in two, three or four instalments, which should be checked. However, a senior education official said the department recognized the problems of parents as well and that was why it amended the rules related to private schools from time to time.

Under the new rules, a Private Institutions’ Management and Quality Assurance Board has been constituted which will perform the functions, including overseeing the general functioning and focussing on the registration and inspection process and working of an institution.

The official said the registration authority of the private schools would recommend the fees structure of an institution after detailed inspection of the institutions at the time of registration of the institutions. The fee schedule once approved would not be increased at any time during the academic session.

Any fee other than tuition fee shall be charged only after approval from the registration authority subject to the condition that no fee, charges or voluntary donation would be charged by the institution on account of any development activity.

The private educational institute will have to ensure that all the conditions of admission with the schedule of fees duly approved by the registering authority shall be printed on the prospectus or on the admission form and shall be provided to the parents or guardians at the time of the admission.

Any complaint regarding the tuition fee in violation of the rules or charging of any fee other than tuition fees shall be liable to punishment. The institute shall furnish to the registering authority, admission policy before the commencement of the academic year.

Under the new rules all the private schools are required to constitute a parents and teachers association representing both parents and teachers which shall perform such functions may be assigned by the registering authority, the official informed.