PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Private Schools Regulatory Authority, established over a year ago, has failed to bring any relief to people as it is yet to regulate fees of the private schools.

In the absence of fee structure, private schools continued charging parents with different fees that made their lives miserable despite establishment of the private schools regulatory authority in December 2017.

Several parents told Dawn that they had pinned high hopes on the newly established authority as they thought that it would not only cut down the high fees being charged by the private schools but would also force the schools to stop taking additional fees except the monthly one from the students.

However, they said, the regulatory authority established with great fanfare by the previous PTI government failed to deliver.

CM’s adviser says he has directed the authority to convene a meeting to resolve all the issues

The provincial assembly had passed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Private Schools Regulatory Authority Act, 2017, on 23 May 2017 to pave the way for the establishment of the authority. The provincial government appointed its managing director in December 2017.

A local resident, whose daughter is enrolled in Allied School Kohat Road campus, told Dawn that the school administration charged Rs2,500 annual fee and Rs2,000 other charges.

The school has explained the annual fee for the purpose of use of web portal by campus, attendance, SMS, email ID for students, computer-based test and medical checkup of students. While other fee was explained in the fee slip as weekly lesson plane, daily worksheet, paper money, ID card etc.

Similarly, The Smart School Saddar campus has also mentioned additional fees including Rs3500 annual fee and Rs250 miscellaneous in the slip for February.

“These are the tactics of the powerful and influential private schools to mint money,” he said. He added that the regulatory authority also bowed down to the pressure of private schools and didn’t regulate fees.

Sources in the regulatory authority told Dawn that fees regulation mechanism couldn’t be framed owing to lack interest of the authority in that important issue and shortage of staff.

They said that fee regulation of private schools was the responsibility of the fee regulation committee formed by the authority that held several meetings in that regard but did not succeed to accomplish the task.

Under the law, sources said, the authority was responsible for appointment of regular staff. However, they said, the authority required 85 staff members including officers and low ranking employees while contrary to it only 20 employees were working in the authority mostly on deputation from other departments.

Ziaullah Bangash, adviser to chief minister on elementary and secondary education department, when contacted, said that he had directed the education secretary to convene a meeting of the owners of the private schools and officials of the authority to solve all the issues.

He said that authority wasted much time due to cases in the courts. He said that the authority was also making efforts to implement decision of the Supreme Court regarding concession in fees.

Published in Dawn, March 4th, 2019