Parents claim Peira notification on reducing school fees not being enforced.

Byline: Kashif Abbasi

ISLAMABAD -- Parents whose children are enrolled in upscale private schools in the city have said that a notification issued by the Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Authority (Peira) to bring them some relief in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic is not being properly implemented by schools.

Peira recently directed schools charging more than Rs5,000 a month to reduce their fees by 20pc and only charge monthly fees due to the ongoing lockdown. However, parents have said that schools are not implementing the notification in its true spirit.

'My children's fees were already paid until April 30. Last month, I got new fee vouchers for May-June and April 10 was the due date. I did not deposit the fees because of the coronavirus, and my children were blocked from online classes,' said one parent.

He said that when he contacted the school's administration, he was given a newinvoicefor fees for the next four months, until August. A copy of the invoiceis available with Dawn.

He added that instead of seeing a 20pc reduction in fees, he was asked to deposit four months' worth of fees in advance. 'I deposited the fees for two months - May to June - in advance and now my kids have been unblocked,' he said.

Another parent said that his daughter's school has openly refused to adhere to Peira's notification.

'It's very, very simple. There should be a 20pc reduction in the fees for April compared to the fees charged in March. There should not be any complication. But here the schools are playing tacticsbecause of Peira's weak control. Sometimes they say the 20pc concession will be given to parents who pay the fees within a few days of issuance of the fee vouchers, some schools are telling parents their children are already availing the discounted fees,' said Hamid Khan, a parent who has filed a case against private schools in the high court and the Supreme Court.

Mr...