LAHORE: Almost all private schools have started withdrawing facilities being given to the students following a Supreme Court verdict about 20pc fee reduction.

Parents say though the schools have started issuing reduced fee bills in the light of the court order, they have withdrawn facilities being given to the students.

A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar on Dec 13 ordered the private schools to cut their fees by 20pc and return 50pc of the amount they received during the 2018 summer vacation while hearing the case pertaining to increase in school fees.

The court had earlier ordered the institutes to furnish their respective audit reports and formed a committee in October to find an amicable solution to the issue of exorbitant fees being collected from parents.

The audit reports for the Beaconhouse School System, The City School, the Lahore Grammar School (LGS), the Roots School System, the Bay View Academy and 15 other schools which were submitted to court, mentioned that the directors and top officials of schools had received Rs62 million under salary head in 2017. A total of Rs512 million was spent on employees’ salaries in one year and Rs5.2 billion in five years, the report said, adding that various facilities were also provided in these institutions.

Parents Association President Sajeel Usmani told Dawn that only two out of 22 private schools had reduced the fees and implemented the SC order so far. He said 20 other institutes including Beaconhouse, Roots, the City schools and Bay View Academy issued fee bills without any reduction.

He said the LGS and The City School had reduced the fees but withdrawn the facilities being given to their students.

Mr Usmani said the school administrations had directed the students to bring their own stationery and also stopped conducting different activities and trainings for character building of the students. He said they had presented some reduced fee bills of the schools in court but the counsel for the school administrations had declared these fake.

He said the School Education Department was supposed to enforce the court order but it had not taken any action.

Mr Usmani said the private schools’ administrations had also started downsizing by reducing the number of teachers and administrative and security staff. The schools had increased the strength of the students in the classes from 30 per class to 45 and these measures would compromise the quality of education, he said.

Private Schools Association President Zofran Elahi told Dawn that most schools had decreased the fees and implemented the court order. He said it was misconception that all the schools were earning 28pc profit and court ordered to reduce 20pc fee. “Most schools were earning a profit of less than 10pc and now they are minimising expenses by slashing facilities and relieving extra staff,” he said.

He said the government had earlier ordered to close schools in residential colonies and shift these to the commercial areas. “How can a school pay commercial area fare and meet other expenses,” he said.

Mr Elahi said they would go for review of the court order and abide by rules and regulations. “An estimated 20 million children are already out of school in the country and the government schools lack capacity to educate them,” he said.

School Education Department Secretary Zafar Iqbal said the private schools had reduced the fees by 20pc on the directions of the Supreme Court. He said the school administrations had been charging for the facilities/ amenities being provided to the children from the parents even before the reduction of fees and parents should lodge a complaint for withdrawal of facilities.

He said the department had given Feb 12 deadline to implement order of court after which the department would start taking action in case of non-compliance.

Published in Dawn, January 16th, 2019