Senate committee orders private schools in Islamabad to revise unjustified fee increases, enforcing PEIRA’s 5–8% cap to protect parents from financial burden.
Senate Committee Flags Uncontrolled Fee Hikes
On Monday, a Senate committee was seriously concerned about the soaring tuition fees that are being charged by the private schools in the federal capital. According to the Senate Standing Committee on Federal Education which was under the leadership of Senator Bushra Anjum Butt, the increases were dubbed as uncontrollable and the committee recommended a tight enforcement of regulations to ensure that parents are not subjected to unnecessary financial burden.
The committee considered various complaints raised by parents and found that a number of elite institutions had not paid attention to the instructions given to them by the Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Authority (PEIRA). In spite of the obvious regulations, some schools had increased their fees even more than it was permissible.
PEIRA Regulations and Compliance Gaps
The policy existing at PEIRA currently allows the private schools in Islamabad to raise their tuition fees up to 5 percent a year and 8 percent to schools with outstanding academic performance. In other words, it was told to the committee that some institutions have increased fees up to 12 percent, which is contrary to the notification issued in 2021.
Senator Bushra Butt stressed that schools should follow the system of fees determination and control bodies should reinforce the system of monitoring. She requested exhaustive information of PEIRA showing all the schools that had violated the accepted threshold.
Directive for Immediate Revision of Fees
The chairperson instructed schools whose fees are excessively high or unwarranted to change their challans forthwith. She also directed PEIRA to provide an amended list of such schools and guarantee that the same is done within the next review period. The committee emphasized that violation of same would invite tough administrative action.
Senator Butt once again pointed out that parents should not be put into economic difficulty due to unregulated policies. She emphasized that education is a social good and not a luxury item and that it should be afforded to everyone.
Restrictions on Book and Uniform Sales
PEIRA officials told the committee that schools are strictly forbidden to coerce parents into buying books, uniforms and accessories with certain vendors. Any organization caught flouting this would be penalized according to the current structure of the authority. The committee recommended PEIRA to create awareness among the people on the rights of parents and provide mechanisms of redressing complaints at the district level.
Ensuring Fair Education Costs
The Senate committee determined that the critical issue that enhances equity in education is the imposition of fee transparency. It pointed out that the schools that gain higher revenues have to demonstrate the increment with real changes in the quality of education, facilities, or other benefits to students. Legislators demanded regular audits and development of parents reporting portal.
The guidelines given by the committee will likely influence better oversight procedures within PEIRA to strengthen the sense of responsibility among the private educational institutions and to make sure that the families in the expanding Islamabad private education sector are affordable.
