KARACHI, Sept 7: The Sindh education department has decided to directly regulate the working of private educational institutions, instead of relying on government field officers at the district level, said sources in the department.

It was learnt that in view of the increasing number of complaints about fee structures, books, remuneration of teachers and other facilities, including building structures, authorities at the education department had decided to set up and activate a separate directorate for dealing with private institutions in line with the amendments made in the private school (regulation and control) ordinance, 2001.

Before the amendments - approved by the assembly some months back - the power to register and regulate private educational institutions rested with district governments. Fresh legislation was needed since the then existing ordinance had failed to address some issues of great concern, said an official.

A notification issued by a section officer on Tuesday said that the department of education had asked private educational institutions to strictly abide by rules, and refrain from enhancing fees without seeking proper permission from the competent authority.

The handout further said that after amendments to the rules for registration and control of private schools and colleges, the authority for registration and control was shifted from the previous hierarchy to the provincial education department.

The education department also constituted a high-level committee comprising senior officials, who would visit and monitor private schools. The committee would also handle cases of fresh registration of private institutions and submit recommendations to the education secretary.

In the meantime, the department has directed private school managements not to approach the local governments' education offices with regard to registration of their schools and contact officers assigned by the provincial education department for the purpose.

An official of the department said that education officers in districts had also been informed about measures taken by the Sindh government, asking them not to entertain cases of registration of schools and colleges in future.

According to an estimate, about 3,000 registered and non- registered private institutions - free to take whatever fees and steps they liked - were operative in the Karachi district.

On the other hand, the Sindh education department, which had decided to establish a directorate for private institutions, and which had created some posts for the purpose as well, was yet to appoint a director, private schools.

When contacted, the secretary of the education department, Nadir Ali Markhiani, said that no school would now be allowed to increase its fees without acquiring approval from the education department.

"In addition to granting new registrations and approval of fee structures of schools applying to the department, I, being the registering authority, will also review the existing fee rates of private institutions."

Schools failing to justify their fee structures would be required to make a downward revision, he said, adding that community people, along with the education department would be involved in the process of monitoring private schools.

While maintaining that the department wanted to provide opportunities to students from the low income groups to acquire education at private schools of their choice, the education secretary said that he would work for true implementation of a provision of the school ordinance with regard to grant of free ships.

Under the Sindh private educational institutions ordinance, schools were also required to exempt 10 per cent of its students on need-cum-merit basis, while charges or funds collected by an institution, other than the tuition fees, were required to be approved by the registering authority at the time of registration.

To a question, Mr Markhiani said that withdrawal of power of regulation of private schools from the district government was not contradictory to the provisions of the Sindh Local Government Ordinance.

"We decided to regulate private schools only to streamline and ensure fairness in the affairs of private schools, while education as a whole is still the subject of the district governments. This is being done in view of public complaints and reports of corruption," he maintained.