SHC Rules Against Fee Hike and Late Fee Surcharge by Private Schools in Sindh

Sindh High Court has banned private schools from charging late fee charges and an additional fee on top of the regular fee. Justice Muneeb Akhtar led the bench that heard the petition filed by parents of students and issued the orders.

The Case

The government previously allowed private schools to increase the fee by more than 5% in a year. However, Sindh High Court ruled against this decision and ordered that no more than 5% can be increased annually.

The court noticed that schools were violating this law by increasing fees by up to 10%. SHC ordered against this fee hike by deeming it illegal.

---

ALSO READ

Medical Colleges’ Fee Hike Decision Reversed

---

Parents’ counsel told the court that schools were charging extra charges on late submission of fees. However, they told that it was the schools’ fault as they weren’t issuing vouchers in time which led to the late fee deposit. One of the parents said;

It is like they want to deliberately add the late fee surcharge to the voucher.

The court, on this, ordered that schools cannot charge this late fee deposit amount anymore. The court further ordered that no extra fees will be charged in addition to the tuition fee.

The petition was filed in December 2017 by parents of students studying in various private schools of Sindh. Furthermore, the court has ordered the government to formulate a legal system that monitors hikes in school fees.

Via Dawn