Summer holidays are usually given for 3 months to students: June, July and August. When the month of February ends, parents are generally sent a fee challan of two months for next 3 months i.e. March and June, April and July, May and August. This strategy is mostly implemented in all the schools in order to grab advance fees for the summer but there is a sigh of relief for parents residing in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as KPK stops schools from the collection of advance fees for summer vacations.
Recently a picture was floating on various social media platforms where a bunch of Rs. 1000/- notes were displayed along with a fee card. It was the caption that sparked debate all around. A note was posted that ‘I have not won a lottery neither am I planning to buy something big. This is my child’s school fee.’
Parents are generally troubled when they are asked to submit advance fees because not everyone shares similar financial positions. Private schools have made this habit and this practice is being followed by every other school. There have been protests by parents of children nationwide. In regard to this, Deputy Commissioner Peshawar, Riaz Khan Mehsood, has notified all private schools to cease the collection of the advance fees for the upcoming summer vacations operating in the capital of KPK.
Riaz Khan Mehsud was of the view that there were plenty of complaints from the parents of school going children in this regard. He said that:
“Private schools owners will no longer be allowed to receive any payments other than the tuition fees for the months that children are in school. The schools will also have no authority over increasing fees. In case of increase in fee, the schools will have to get official approval from the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Peshawar (BISEP), and the Consumer Protection Association (CPA)”
In a meeting that was chaired by Additional Deputy Commissioner, Irshad Sodhar, which was also attended by parents’ representatives, BISEP and CPA officials, it was decided that the schools would only be collecting fees for a particular month that a child studies in and apart from tuition fees, no other fees will be charged.
There is no doubt that the primary agenda of these private schools is to earn more and more money rather than providing quality education. Such schools also put a note in the student’s diary that tomorrow is purple, red etc day and that your child should be dressed in the same color. This is quite challenging for parents.
Moreover, little students are forced to carry a burden of gigantic bags on their shoulders which is also a serious concern as there are plenty of notebooks and copies that are filled in their bags. This needs to stop and private schools need to be extremely lenient towards the children and their parents.
TOP PHOTO: MUHAMMAD AZEEM/EXPRESS
