BAHAWALPUR: A large number of parents of students staged a sit-in and blocked the national highway for hours in front of the Sadiq Public School (SPS) against the administration’s decision to increase fees by 100pc.

The school has asked the parents to pay the hiked fee even during the ongoing month.

The protesters expressed concerns at the fee hike of the schoolchildren by the school that was unprecedented in the over seven decade history of the institution. It was also the first time that the parents have taken to the streets against the school management over the fee hike.

The protesting parents held placards inscribed with their demand to withdraw the 100pc fee hike. They assembled outside the Gate 1 of the school where they first held a demonstration and raised slogans, then staged a sit-in and blocked the highway for several hours, creating disruption in the traffic bound for Karachi and Rahim Yar Khan.

A number of PTI leaders, including former minister Samiullah Chaudhry, also joined the protesters, assuring them of his party’s support.

Talking to the media, the parents said the fee of a junior section student had been enhanced from Rs80,000 to Rs150,000 per month without any advance notice. They argued that they had already paid the fees of their children up to August while during summer vacation. They alleged that in order to pay the salary to a foreign principal in the US dollars, they were being overcharged and burdened with the heavy fee structure without any justification.

The parents demanded the Punjab governor, who is chairman of SPS board of governors, and other high-ups to withdraw the fee hike notification. They also threatened to challenge this fee hike notification in the court if the school management did not withdraw it.

During the protest, Assistant Commissioner (AC) Dr Sana Ramchand accompanied by DSP Muhammad Younus, reached the scene to maintain the law and order and mediated between a delegation of demonstrators and school management. However, the mediation proved inconclusive.

Published in Dawn, August 19th, 2024