The complaints surfaced as parents had a heated debate with representatives of private school networks during a consultation meeting organised by the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) in Islamabad on Thursday over the high fees charged by private educational institutions.
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The meeting was chaired by NCHR Chairman Justice (retired) Ali Nawaz Chowhan. Parents said that if they tried to raise their voice against the management of private schools through any means, they were then targeted and threatened with the expulsion of their children.
They further complained that they were often compelled to buy books from the school at exorbitant prices, even if the same books were readily available in the open markets at comparatively lower prices.
Kashif Ismail, a father of three children who all study at a private school in Lahore, told the human rights commission chief all three of his children had recently been harassed by the school’s administration after which the children had refused to go to school.
“My only crime was that I raised my voice against the high fees [charged by the school] due to which my three children, aged six,10 and 12, were forced to spend an entire day in the school library and then made to stay there for an additional half an hour after the bell rang,” he cried, adding that this exercise continued for another seven days after which his children refused to go to the school and now no private school was admitting them.
Another parent said that he had requested some private schools to give him some concession in fees for his daughter but he was asked
to leave in an insulting way. Another parent complained that his child was humiliated in front of the entire class after a teacher asked the child to explain the delays in submitting school fees.
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“Due to such attitudes, our children are refusing to go to school, they feel insulted, embarrassed and are suffering from inferiority complexes,” the parents complained.
The parents further complained about the approach of private schools, who now operate more like businesses rather than educational establishments who charge very high fees without providing quality education.
In this regard, they pointed out that some private schools do not even have qualified staff who but are charging exorbitant sums. Similarly, private schools ask for a host of auxiliary charges such as laboratory fees, computer charges amongst other charges.
Moreover, schools demand fees for extra circular activities but they lack grounds and activity areas to conduct these activities in. Schools who promote tree plantation campaigns do not even have a single tree in their school.
“School administrations are like mannequins. If a parent raises any issue regarding fee hikes, they are unable to answer or do anything because the owners of these schools are mostly businessmen and they run them through a dummy administration,” said parents.
Responding to the complaints, Private School Network Pakistan representatives explained that a small group of schools, who comprise only around five to six per cent of their members, have the
business orientation parents were complaining of.
“We must not forget all the other schools who are following the rules and regulations,” they said, adding, “We also condemn schools who violate the rules and challenge the state’s writ.”
The private school network requested the NCHR to ask parents not to call them a mafia just because a few private schools were involved in such heinous crimes. After hearing both sides of the story, the NCHR chief asked private schools to submit detailed data about the schools who were violating the rules and who were in compliance.
“Any school who creates a hurdle in the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution will not be spared,” the NCHR chairman said, as he summoned the private schools’ associations representatives along with the data on Monday for the next consultation.
Parents were also asked to name those schools who were charging high fees in violation of of the rules.
