ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Thursday slashed fee of private schools by 20 per cent and directed them to refund 50 per cent of the fee they charged during the summer vacation.

The court’s bench comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar, Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Faisal Arab that was hearing a suo motu case about a fee hike capped the annual increase at five per cent and directed chairman of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to scrutinise the tax records and accounts of private schools.

During the proceedings, audit reports of some schools were also presented before the bench. One of the reports said three directors were paid Rs8.3 million each as monthly salary.

The audit reports of Beaconhouse School System (BSS), City School, Lahore Grammar School, Roots School System, Bayview Academy and 15 other institutions submitted to the court revealed the directors and other top officials of the schools received Rs62m in salaries in 2017.

A total of Rs512m was spent on employees’ salaries in one year, while Rs5.2 billion was spent in five years, the reports said, adding that various facilities were also provided.

Chief Justice Nisar said the schools “paid exorbitant salaries to the directors in order to show” that their institutions were in loss.

In October, the apex court had ordered that audits of the schools be carried out and formed a committee, to be headed by the federal ombudsman, for finding an amicable solution to the issue of exorbitant fee being collected from parents.

The counsel for BSS, Shahid Hamid, argued that his client had paid Rs764m in taxes. He told the court that Punjab alone had about 54,000 private schools.

Justice Ahsan observed: “Our intention is not to look into these details but to ensure that private schools impart quality education for an affordable fee.”

During the discussion on capping the annual hike in tuition fee, the schools proposed an increase of eight to 10 per cent.

The chief justice said this would mean burdening the already overburdened parents. He warned that the court could order that an audit of 20 years be carried out.

Such an audit would reveal how the “business of education” had flourished and turned into a profitable venture within a rather short period.

“I may order the Federal Investigation Agency and FBR to investigate the school fee,” said Chief Justice Nisar when he noticed that an educational institution had submitted a faulty audit report.

The bench directed the FBR to conduct an investigation into the financial affairs of the leading private schools and adjourned further hearing till December 26.

Published in Dawn, December 14th, 2018