Private schools directed to return extra fees charged after 2017  

LAHORE: Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday directed the private schools to return extra fees charged from the parents after 2017, ARY NEWS reported.

The court directed the educational institutes to return the extra amount charged after 2017 other than the approved five percent raise during a year.

The provincial court directed the schools to fully implement an apex court decision in this regard.

Earlier in September 2019, the LHC directed private schools to collect tuition fees as per the Supreme Court’s order.

A bench of the LHC summoned a report from the Punjab education secretary and the chief executive officer of the district education authority to submit their reports on fees being collected by private educational institutes on Oct 14.

The bench was hearing a petition filed by the Judicial Activism Panel against private schools receiving excessive fees.

The petitioner pleaded with the bench to restrain schools from collecting exorbitant fees in violation of the SC order.

In its judgment last week, the SC had ruled that private schools would charge the same fees as in January 2017.

A day earlier, the LHC had directed the Punjab government to furnish a report showing action it has thus far taken against private schools collecting excessive tuition fees in violation of the Supreme Court order.

Read More: Minister warns of strict action against private schools increasing fees

Justice Shahid Waheed of the LHC was hearing a petition filed by a student, Ihtesham Sarwar who took a private school to the court over raising tuition fees excessively.

The judge directed the provincial authorities to submit details as to how many private schools had been fined for charging excessive fees.

Over the course of the hearing, he took exception to the government imposing a fine of Rs20,000 on a private educational institutes, saying it was fined a mere Rs20,000 for collecting double fees.