KARACHI, Jan 16: The Sindh directorate of private educational institutions has suspended the registration of 55 private schools for an indefinite period on charges of flouting the education department steering committee’s decision concerning the winter vacations.

According to the provincial director of private educational institutions, Mansoob Hussain Siddiqui, the decision of suspending the registration of all those schools which remained open during the recent winter vacations had been taken on the directives of Sindh Education Minister Pir Mazharul Haq.

“Prior to suspending registration all those schools which remained open during the winter vacations were issued show-cause notices to explain their position in this regard but since none of them could give any satisfactory reply, the directorate has no choice but to take such an action under the Schools’ Registration Act,” the director added.

He said that separate letters had also been written to the Board of Secondary Education and the British Council, Karachi, informing them about the schools whose registration had been suspended for an indefinite period so that both the institutions could take appropriate action under the rules and regulations concerning examinations of their students.

The directorate also instructed the management of unregistered private schools to immediately apply for the registration of their institutions, or else legal action would be taken against them under the Schools’ Registration Act.

When the directorate official’s attention was drawn towards hundreds of private schools which have been fleecing parents by charging exorbitant tuition fees, registration and admission fees, so-called ‘annual charges’ and even donations in the name of development activities at the time of admissions, he clarified that a private school could charge admission fees from its students at the time of his or her admission to the institution. The admission fee should not be more than three-month tuition fee of the respective class to which a student was admitted, he added.

Quoting the rules pertaining to the fee schedule, the official said that private schools were neither authorised to charge any fee other than tuition fee nor they could demand voluntary donations on account of development activities. He asked parents to lodge their complaints with the directorate if any school violated the fee schedule.