ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday restrained all private educational institutions from collecting fee during the summer vacations.

Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui also directed the private schools to adjust the fee already collected from the students for June and July when the schools would remain closed on account of the vacations.

The court passed these directions while hearing a petition filed by a citizen, Jamshed Khan.

IHC orders private educational institutions to adjust fee already paid

The petitioner contended that since the private schools remained closed for over two months they cannot charge the tuition fee and other expenses from the students for that period.

On May 7, the IHC had summoned the secretary Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) and the chairman Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Authority (Peira) for their comments.

On Friday, CADD Secretary Furqan Bahadur Khan and Peira Chairman Hassnat Ahmed Qureshi appeared before the court.

When Justice Siddiqui asked them how the management of private schools could collects fee for the period when the students were on vacations, they responded that the Lahore High Court (LHC) had fully and the Peshawar High Court (PHC) partially restrained private educational institutions from collecting tuition fee during the summer vacations.

A counsel for Peira said the LHC had ordered the schools to waive the fee while the PHC had reduced the fee by 50pc during the vacations.

Deputy Attorney General Arshad Mehmood Kiani confirmed the directives of the two high courts.

The IHC then ruled: “PEIRA is directed that all private educational institutions be restrained from receiving fee for the period of summer vacations till next date of hearing.”

When a counsel pointed out that the private schools had already collected the fee for the month of May, Justice Siddiqui in the order added: “Amount of fee already paid by the parents/students shall be adjusted against the fee for the period after vacations.”

Further hearing of the matter was adjourned to June 20.

The Punjab government earlier this year had issued a notification barring private educational institutions from collecting fee during vacations and also published advertisements in different newspapers advising parents not to deposit the fee for that period.

However, not a single school in the Rawalpindi exempted the students from the monthly fee. Likewise, the students in the federal capital have already deposited the fee for the period of summer vacations.

Published in Dawn, May 19th, 2018