SHC bars private schools to raise tuition fee by more than 5%

KARACHI (92 News) – The Sindh High Court on Monday ruled that the private schools cannot raise the tuition fee more than five per cent in Karachi. A three-judge larger bench of the SHC comprising Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Ashraf Jehan heard the case. The SHC bench announced verdict in an earlier reserved judgment on pleas filed by parents regarding the increase in school fee. The bench then announced its judgment declaring an increase of more than five per cent as illegal. All the private schools were barred to increase the tuitions in Karachi. It added that the private schools cannot increase their tuition fee by more than five per cent. The lawyer of the parents said that the salaries paid to teachers do not even make up 50 per cent of the school expenditure. He said that the school earnings should be considered along with their expenditure. The parents' lawyer said that Article 38 applies to all respondents and the court had also earlier declared that private schools are "a profit-making business". Meanwhile, the additional advocate general argued that an increase in school fee has to do with basic rights. He added that the power to increase school fee should lie with the provincial government. After the verdict, the parents expressed happiness and hoped to return back the extra fees. The court sought the reply of Sindh government till September 7 while issued a notice to the federal government over imposing income tax on fee. Earlier in March, the SHC had also declared as illegal a hike in private school fees. The SHC during a hearing on a petition against a government notification on a hike in private school fees in the province, rendered the notifcation void.