UNREGULATED SCHOOL FEE HIKE

PAKISTAN : ISLAMABAD : Parents of school-going children have urged the Chief Justice of Pakistan to take a suo moto notice of the unbridled hike in school fees-

Unjustified profits by school owners and substandard education in government schools which they claim is ruining the future of the country.

The cry comes even as parents have been protesting against the fees hikes in private educational institutions since 2015.

They complained that  neither have they received any relief from the government nor the schools.

As a last option, they have now submitted an application, signed by about 1,500 parents of children studying both in private and public schools, to the human rights cell of the apex court to draw its attention towards the problem.

Parents whose children study in private schools in Islamabad suffer the most since a regulatory authority of private schools formed by the government has been rendered toothless by the court.

In their application, the parents stated that private schools have been raising their fees every year.

Apart from the monthly fee   -charged in advance   -the students are also charged security fees and fees for amenities such as generators, multimedia, uniforms, books and sports.

Over the past few years, parents are also asked to fork out large sums of money for school foreign trips, food festivals, and examination fees -
which at times is even higher than that charged by the British Council.