KARACHI, May 18: A Sindh High Court division bench set aside on Wednesday the provincial government decision to bar private schools from recovering advance tuition fee and other dues. According to Advocate Zahid F. Ebrahim, counsel for the City School management, a division bench, comprising Chief Justice Sabihuddin Ahmed and Justice Maqbool Baqar, observed that the notification of March 21, 2005, which barred the schools from realizing advance fee exceeded the powers conferred on the provincial government by the Sindh Private Educational Institutions (Regulation and Control) Ordinance, 2001. The respondent government was represented by Additional Advocate-General Sarwar Khan.

Another petition against the notification, moved by the Beaconhouse School System through Advocare Kamaluddin Azfar, is fixed for hearing before another division bench on Thursday. The bench, which consists of Justices Ataur Rahman and S. Ali Aslam Jafri, has sought government’s comments on the petition. AAG M. Ahmed Pirzada, who is contesting the petition on government’s behalf, is due to submit the comment on Thursday.

The bench earlier declined to suspend the operation of the impugned notification. The petition before it involves a wider controversy as the petitioner system has also challenged the validity of certain provisions of the 2001 ordinance and the rules and regulations made under it.