PESHAWAR, Nov 30: The Peshawar Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education on Friday formed separate teams to ensure the grant of fee concession to brothers and sisters studying at the same private school in the provincial capital.

“The private schools not implementing the government’s decision and the directives of the Peshawar High Court about fee concession will be de-affiliated,” PBISE Chairman Professor Mohammad Shafi told Dawn.

According to the July 30, 2007 notification of the Elementary and Secondary Education Deportment, when two or more real brothers and sisters attend the same school or different schools in the province, only the brother or sister in the higher class of a school should be required to pay full fee.

“The fee payable by other brothers and sisters should not exceed half of the ordinary rates.”

Professor Shafi said the teams comprising the PBISE officers would visit private schools in the city to ask students about fee concession. As such, there exists no authority to regulate private educational institutions in the city as such. However, PBISE acts as the regulator.

The PBISE chairman said that 650 complaints were reported to the board in the year and all had been addressed.

He said he had called a meeting of the owners of the city’s private schools over the said fee concession on next Tuesday.

Also in the day, Professor Shafi paid a surprise visit to various private schools in Hayatabad to learn about the grant of fee concession to siblings studying there.

He visited Qartuba Public School and College, ICMS School System, Forward Public School and Institute of Learning and Motivation and was informed by their heads that fee concession was given to brothers and sisters enrolled with them.

On the occasion, the PBISE chairman directed the heads of all private schools in the city to ensure compliance with fee concession directives to prevent action.

He said if heads of the schools knew about the law and the Peshawar High Court’s orders, then there should be no excuse for them to wait for the directives of the regulator for the grant of fee concession to siblings enrolled with them.

“Much media campaign has been done and is still underway on the matter, so no one can claim that he or she or his or her educational institution does not know about the high court’s directives on fee concession,” he said.

Professor Shafi directed the PBISE director (regulatory authority) to speedily dispose of complaints on fee concession.

The director said he had received compliance with the high court orders on the matter from various private schools.

He said parents could apprise him of complaints by phone or fax.—Bureau Report