Beaconhouse Smart schools given a week to refund excess fees
Lahore:15 November:The Directorate of Inspection & Registration of Private Institutions Sindh (Dirpis) of the School Education & Literacy Department (SELD) on Wednesday suspended the registration of the Beaconhouse School System, the City School network and the Smart Schools for violating court orders regarding fee hike.
SELD Media Coordinator Saeed Memon said his department had written to the administrations of these schools five times, asking them to implement the decisions of the Supreme Court and the Sindh High Court (SHC), but they have been non-compliant.
“If they follow the education department’s instructions within seven days, their registration will be restored, failing which these schools will be sealed in the presence of a judicial magistrate.” Dirpis Secretary Rafia Javed said the directorate had instructed all private schools that had charged excess fees to surrender the extra sums to the SC registrar.
On September 4, the directorate had sent a circular to private schools warning them against increasing fees by more than five per cent a year, and telling them to implement the SHC’s September 3 ruling.
The private schools that had charged increased fees have been directed to refund the excess amount or adjust it in the following months, or else their registration will be cancelled. On September 17, private schools were again informed to submit their progress report, but they did not take the matter seriously.
On October 1, the SC issued its verdict about the fees structure of private institutes and upheld the SHC’s earlier order. Private schools’ owners were told to surrender the excess amount to the SC registrar’s office within three months.
The directorate had provided parents with the fee structure of all private schools so they could pay fees of their children in accordance with court orders. When the directorate learnt about the non-compliance of some schools, it formed a three-member committee and tasked it with identifying the violators and taking action against them.
During its inspection the committee found that the Beaconhouse School System, the City School network and the Smart Schools have not been complying with court orders. On the committee’s recommendation, the education department suspended their registration.
Rafia said the committee has scheduled more inspections. “We are neither against private educational institutes nor targeting particular school systems,” she clarified. “We are educationists and understand that these schools are playing a pivotal role in the education of Sindh, but we are taking action to implement court orders and compensate the affected parents.”
A spokesperson for the Beaconhouse School System said in a media statement that Beaconhouse will follow all of SELD’s rules, but the department cannot suspend their registration because they have sought time from the court until December 2. “Why is the education minister in a hurry? Beaconhouse will remain open.”The news.
