LAHORE: DCO retired Captain Muhammad Usman on Monday directed owners of private schools to return the additional money they had received from parents on the pretext of increase in monthly fee.

“We will not allow you to increase the monthly fee during the on-going academic year. You will have to return the additional money to parents,” the DCO warned the owners in a meeting.

He said that owners/administrations of schools would have to justify their stance before the city administration every time they intended to increase the monthly fee.

He directed the education officers to immediately respond to the complaints in respect of increase in the school fee.

PROTEST: The parents of private schools children on Monday continued their protest against a raise in school fees.

Holding placards and banners, the parents chanted slogans against private schools and the apathy of the government towards the issue.

They said schools’ administration increased fees every now and then without any reason. Since there has been no check on them from the government, private schools were fleecing them, they said.

They said they would continue their protest here and Islamabad till the government intervenes and brings the private schools under some regulation.

Last week, Punjab Education Minister Rana Mashhood held a meeting with representatives of private schools but failed to convince them to withdraw a recent increase in fees.

Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif had also issued a statement warning private educational institutions not to increase fees unnecessarily. “Action will be taken against private educational institutions under the rules and regulations receiving more fees unnecessarily from students,” he warned.

Published in Dawn, September 15th, 2015

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