SHC bars private school owners from extra charging except tuition fees

KARACHI (92 News) – The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Thursday barred the private school owners extra charging except tuition fees from children. The SHC heard a case pertaining to exorbitant charges in monthly school fees of private academic institutes in the name of various extra-curricular events. School manager of Sindh appeared in front of the SHC and was grilled by the judge presiding over the case for depriving parents of their hard-earned money over irrelevant activities. Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar remarked that the private schools have made education and the pursuit of knowledge nothing more than a business opportunity. He inquired that do the schools themselves have any responsibility towards the students or will the parents just keep doling out money in the name of these events? “Words putting a teacher and the people involved in the matters of education on a pedestal and making them come off like spiritual guardians of knowledge have been limited to books, the people are now just busy in looting and lining their pockets,” he ramrked. The court issued orders for private schools to not charge an iota more than the tuition fee, the court also directed the director for private schools to sit with stakeholders on the matter and resolve the matter in light of the current court orders and previously announced verdicts on the matter. The court also ordered director public school to submit a follow-up report on the matter which should uphold court orders.