PEIRA admits helplessness in regulating private schools

ISLAMABAD: The apex regulator of private schools in the federal capital, including the fees they charge, has admitted its utter helplessness in doing its legally mandated task owing to court injunctions.

This shocking admission came as representatives of the Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Authority (Peira) testified before the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) in the capital on Monday.

Peira member Imtiaz Qureshi gave a detailed presentation to the commission about its mandate under the PEIRA Act 2013, its rules and other documents. In his presentation, Qureshi told the commission that most of the 1,242 private schools registered with the body in the federal capital were violating the law and the regulator’s rules.

He further said that some of its rules had been struck down by the courts, leaving it hamstrung in performing its functions. Many private schools, even the supposed elite schools, do not comply with Peira rules, Qureshi said, pointing out one of the basic provision violated is lack of sufficient space as specified in Peira Rules 2016.

These schools, he said, were operating in small buildings which were meant to be residences.

He disclosed that as many as 365 schools in the federal capital are operating in residential areas where a whopping 80,000 students — or around 19.4 per cent of the total student population enrolled in private schools — were studying.

“Private schools are operating as business corporations and are prioritising money as opposed to imparting education which is actually their main purpose,” Qureshi said, adding, “In this regard, private schools are not adhering to law and rules of Peira.”

Furthermore, Qureshi said that Peira rules clearly mention the facilities the schools are required to have. But a number of private schools in the capital were operating without these facilities. “They neither have a proper ventilation system nor enough playgrounds for extra circular activities which are very important for the students,” the Commission was told.

Moreover, the Peira representative said that these schools also lack a proper mechanism for hiring teachers.

They [schools] continue to pay teachers a very low salary, which is another violation of the Peira rules, he said. All the while, he said that the schools have been charging exorbitant fees from students which have complicated matters.

A number of schools, he said, were offering external degree and certification programmes for which they charge higher course registration fees from parents.

Only in of Pakistan did the institutes conducting external examinations desist from mentioning the course registration fee on their website.

NCHR Chairman Justice (retired) Ali Nawaz Chowhan along with NCHR Member Chaudhry Shafique, while hearing the high school fees case, said that they will issue notices to the other relevant commissions to determine what has been done to address the matter.

The next hearing was fixed for next week on October 9. In 2015, following protests from parents, the government had declared fee hikes by the schools as null and void.

The schools, who had secured plots from the government on favourable terms, refused to accept the decision and challenged it in the court.

In June 2016, Peira had introduced a fee structure for private schools under the Registration and Fee Determination Rules 2016 (RFDR). However, the rules were also challenged by the schools in the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

The court subsequently stopped the regulator from enforcing any rules until it pronounces its verdict in the case. In the interim period, it gave a free hand to private schools to charge fees however they wished. Litigation continued for two years after which the court decided the matter in favour of the schools and struck down the regulatory powers of Peira, rendering the private school regulator toothless.

The parents have been protesting the issue at various forums asking the Supreme Court to take notice of the issue. The apex court has also taken notice and matter is being heard in court clubbed together with others.

Source: Express Tribune