SWABI: Private sector schools here have gone into overdrive to woo students to enroll by offering special fee remissions, especially to brilliant students, Dawn learnt on Saturday.

The schools management have been using different tactics to lure the students and those who are competent enough are being offered special remission in admission and tuition fees. It has also been learnt that some outstanding students have been offered free education with a view to notch up top positions in the board examinations.

A private chain of schools owned by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Speaker Asad Qaisar is also in the forefront in the race to enroll as many students as possible.

Schools have also used roadside advertisements and wall chalking offering specials concessions to lure students.

“It is admission time and we usually remain busy as different schools are competing in offering concessions to students,” said Abid Sadiq, who runs a private school in Topi area.

Similar views were expressed by owners of other schools, saying they didn’t mind offering competent students with special incentives for enrolling them.

“The students who excelled in last year’s examinations have become our real asset as we give their example to parents to make them to admit their children to our institution,” said a college principal.

Meanwhile, the private schools are expected to increase their admission and tuition fees in the new academic year, scheduled to commence from April.

“It is usual that we increase the admission and tuition fee every year,” said a school head. But, the fee increase always perturbs the parents, especially those having more than one child enrolled. “I have four school-going children and whenever the fee is increased it puts immense financial burden on me,” Iftikhar Ahmad Khan, an accountant in a private organisation, told Dawn.

The parents said they had raised the increase in fee time and again, but the government didn’t bother to lend an ear to their calls.

Unable to pay the exorbitant fees, some parents are forced to pull their children out of school.

The parents said it was not only the tuition fee which was increased routinely, but the schools also charged them heavily under various heads without any check by the government. “We are even charged for the petrol consumed by the generator in our school,” said a student.

Published in Dawn, March 13th, 2016