KARACHI: All Sindh Private Schools Association representative Haider Ali on Wednesday said that the association does not agree with the government’s directive for schools to grant a 20 per cent concession in tuition fees to students due to the COVID-19 crisis.
Sindh Education Minister Saeed Ghani ordered the Directorate of Inspection and Registration of Private Institutions Sindh (Dirpis) on Tuesday to make it mandatory for all private schools to grant a 20 per cent concession in tuition fee for the months of April and May.
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The government has taken this decision in order to provide financial assistance to the parents affected by the lockdown in the current coronavirus pandemic, a statement said. The schools were further directed not to terminate the services of the teaching and nonteaching staffers during the lockdown and they were bound to pay full salaries to all staffers.
Ali said, “Private schools in Sindh teach approximately 3.3 million students. They are already charging a reduced fee, they cannot reduce it more,” he said. “We will challenge the government order that stipulates schools offer a 20 per cent reduction in fees,” he said.
Kashif Mirza, Chief of the All Pakistan Private Schools Association, has also rejected the government order, saying, “We will petition the court against the orders asking schools to reduce tuition fees by 20%.”
Sindh education minister on Wednesday admitted that the government did not take the management of private schools into confidence before taking the decision, but it is willing to listen to their reasons to refute the decision.
