At a time when parents are finding it difficult to afford the monthly fees of their children, private schools in Punjab have reportedly demanded three months extra fee for the summer vaccinations.
Despite this blatant violation of rules, the provincial authorities haven’t taken any action so far. According to some of the parents, various private schools have decided against assigning homework to students till the payment of the advance fee.
They further questioned the provincial education authorities’ lack of action against such schools. The parents stated that the authorities had previously failed to convince them to announce holidays despite the extreme heat.
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Earlier, the provincial government announced holiday across the province after the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) issued a heatwave warning. However, private schools in Punjab are forcing their students to attend classes.
According to a senior official of the Punjab School Education Department, the private schools have have extended their examination schedule to receive the advance fees for three months. Moreover, they have also threatened not to assign the homework to the children who do not pay the advance.
The official also confirmed receiving reports from different parts of province. In one particular incident, a private school’s administration refused to allow girls to go home over non-payment of the advance fee.
Responding to these complaints, Punjab education minister’s spokesman Noorul Huda said that private schools will not be allowed to collect advance fee. She urged parents to lodge complaints against such schools with the district education authority.
