• Parents express disappointment at decision to transfer Prof Raza
• In a latest incident, a private school forces a girl to stand on one leg for non-payment of fees

KARACHI: Just two days after various associations of private schools held a press conference against him, the Sindh government on Wednesday caved in to their demand and removed Professor Salman Raza from the post of the director general (DG) of the directorate of inspection and registration of private institutions -- a key oversight body for regulating private schools across the province.

Salman Raza, who is a professor of zoology and belongs to the BPS-20 cadre, recently, irked many private school associations for taking them to task over schools charging parents extra fees and selling uniforms, textbooks and stationary items to students. It is said that protests by the private school associations led to his removal.

Prof Raza was removed from the post by Chief Secretary Dr Mohammed Sohail Rajput on the instructions of Sindh Education Minister Syed Sardar Ali Shah.

The associations had strong objections over the statements and actions of Prof Raza, which included his calling schools a blood thirsty mafia, earning billions of rupees as well as beating up the students who failed to pay up extra charges in the shape of advance school fees and pressurising them for the purchase of school uniforms, textbooks and stationary items.

It was during a recent press conference, only a couple of days prior, that the private school associations’ alliance had demanded the removal of Salman Raza, along with complaining about his behaviour during a meeting with the education minister afterwards.

The removal of the private schools inspection DG has also promoted the parents to air their disappointment on social media.

They said the “mafia” had won and the fair voices of the parents had been silenced through the government’s quick action. They said they felt very insecure under the circumstances.

“Where are those people who take such quick actions on the demands of parents when their children are unfairly charged extra fees? Where are the people raising voice for private school teachers, who do all the hard work but receive very small salaries, while the schools stomach all the money collected in the name of extra fees?” they questioned and asked the government to understand their issues also.

Inquiry ordered over punishment to girl student

But Prof Salman Raza’s behaviour with them was based upon certain incidents which had come to his notice.

In a private school in Karachi’s Nazimabad area, a girl student was punished by being made to stand on one leg for not having paid school fees.

A video of the girl’s father protesting outside the school against the incident went viral and the Sindh education department started an inquiry into the matter.

The Sindh education department said the school in question was summoned along with the documents and told not to charge the girl’s parents until the investigation had been completed. The girl’s father maintained that while her fees were paid regularly, the school had suddenly demanded of them payment of additional fee.

He said that even if he had not paid the fee, the school had no right to punish the girl. But the school administration claimed that the girl had not paid any fees since 2019, and a teacher had only made her stand outside class for 15 minutes for not paying the fees.

Published in Dawn, October 20th, 2022