Public schooling is in the doldrums, private schooling costs are becoming increasingly prohibitive ...will Sindh achieve its ambitious ‘Education for All’ goal this year?

It is a tetchy balance: private schools argue that fee hikes are a necessary evil to meet inflation costs, but parents retort it is just evil. Whither education?

“No fee till low fee.”

“Sasti taleem sub kay liyay.”

“Make futures, not money.”

“Stop thinking of parents as ATM machines.”

These are among the slogans that were used by protesting parents’ associations and action committees in the wake of school announcing more fee hikes — at least 10 per cent and up to 60 per cent.

In Karachi, the matter appears more critical and remains unresolved. More than 100 parents gathered outside Karachi Press Club (KPC) soon after the fee hikes were announced by the respective schools their children go to. Various parents’ bodies also began consulting with each other; the consensus was that in a situation where fees are increased every year, the most recent hike is what breaks the camel’s back.

“We clearly say we have paid the fee up till now, but if there is no concession, we will not pay next month’s fee and we’ll be forced to remove our child from school,” argues an enraged mother at the protest. “They don’t sell a product that requires increase in price to maintain margins, they are only educating our children.”

“They have made a business out of education and believe in only minting money instead of providing quality education,” chimes in another mother.

With growing concern regarding sudden fee hikes in private schools across Pakistan, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif announced that private schools will not be allowed to raise fees in 2015. He instructed the Ministry of Education and Capital Administration & Development (CAD) to consult all stake-holders regarding the matter.

The Ministry of Education has authorised the Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Authority (PEIRA) to regularise private schools across the country. The PEIRA Act-2013 was established with the aim of registering, regulating and promoting privately managed educational institutions in the Islamabad Capital territory to ensure that they follow a uniform policy.

PEIRA is tasked with regulating, determining and administering all matters of private educational institutions; ensuring provision of quality education to students and reasonable salary to teachers; fixing grade-wise rate of admission, security, tuition and other fees; checking qualifications of teaching staff and their service terms and conditions; inspecting buildings and conducting inspection of registered institutions and those seeking registration.

Private schools are also not allowed to raise fees on their own without permission from PEIRA. A school constructed on land under 10 marlas cannot be registered while no school is allowed to charge fees in foreign currency. PEIRA can also cancel registration of any educational institution over the violation of rules.

A notification in this regard was issued by PEIRA, directing all schools that no increase in private school fee will be allowed for the current academic year, and that all private schools have to strictly observe the rules.

But with details on how their directive will be implemented in full still hazy, there is growing confusion amidst parents in Karachi. With respect to fee hikes, no notable action is taken by PEIRA ever since its inception in 2013.

Facing severe remonstration and confrontation by parents, meanwhile, the Sindh High Court issued notices to the provincial chief education secretaries and director for schools. The court directed the school administration to act in accordance with the law and direct the education department to take action against the management.

Most parents believe that they are being burdened with the cost of inflation — even though they too have to make the most of limited resources. Among those affected are parents who teach in schools.

“I taught in a school for eight years, but left the job recently in protest. I requested fee concessions for my children studying there, but every time they turned blind eye to my plea,” says a mother of three. She had only taken up teaching to meet schooling costs, with three school-going children and an average fee of Rs12,000 for each.

“The school fee was increased every year without any prior notification. As salaried individuals, it is not possible for us to sustain this fee increase as our salaries do not increase in the same proportion. To accommodate our children’s education, we have to cut down our expenses and make huge compromises,” she says.

Another concerned mother argues that parents and families can only compromise to a certain extent but now, it is going beyond our means.

“Parents who have to pay fees for two or more children are under great stress. What is the reason behind the hikes, we want to know as well. If this injustice continues, we will be forced to remove our children from school,” she says.

Why this huge raise in fee? Why do we pay such large sums when schools do not justify the purpose?

When approached for their comments, school administrations and heads of private schools in Karachi abstained from sharing their views or coming on the record. One administrative in charge informed me that the principal was busy, another was more forthright: “We are not officially allowed to share our viewpoint.”

This silence extends to concerned parents.

Many school managements have refused to listen to parents’ pleas to allow them some relaxation in submitting increased tuition fees. A group of parents submitted a complaint letter to a school principal, arguing that the reaction of school heads was shocking, since they continued to show harsh and stubborn attitude to the parents.

Private schools are also not allowed to raise fees on their own without permission from PEIRA. A school constructed on land under 10 marlas cannot be registered while no school is allowed to charge fees in foreign currency. PEIRA can also cancel registration of any educational institution over the violation of rules.

The parents were informed that, “The application has been forwarded to the head office and regional office. We will let you know soon.” Some school authorities have even warned parents that if they continue to protest, notices will be issued to them to withdraw their children from the school.

But by and large, school managements reiterated the same statement, they have a right to raise fees to meet expenses. According to most private school officials, they have to face a lot of problems because of inflation, rising utility bills and teachers’ salaries.

Teachers are given 10 per cent increments every year; building rents are increased up to 10 per cent and then there are logistics and administrative costs as well. Taxes imposed on private schools should be withdrawn, and the government should implement the ‘Rent Control Act’ so that private schools could pay reasonable rents.

“I taught in a school for eight years, but left the job recently in protest. I requested fee concessions for my children studying there, but every time they turned blind eye to my plea,” says a mother of three. She had only taken up teaching to meet schooling costs, with three school-going children and an average fee of Rs12,000 for each.

Other costs include air-conditioned classrooms, strong security system, playgrounds for physical activities, school library, laboratories, computer and audio visual aids, utilisation of different models, charts, pictures for classroom soft board.

A headmistress of a senior girls’ school explains that the rise allowed every year also has its limits. “Private schools are only allowed to increase their tuition fee by ten per cent every year,” she says.

Over the past decade, private sector has emerged as a key provider of education services in Pakistan. This massive growth has thrown up many important questions. What has caused the private education institutions to grow so rapidly? Should the government strictly regulate the private providers of education? Are the private schools providing better quality of learning? How does the fee structure correlate with quality of education in private schools?

“It seems impractical to admit our child to another school as the admission procedure is the same,” explains one parent. “To get into these schools, you will be charged an application fee, after which they charge you a registration fee. Then, they charge a security deposit and an advanced monthly fee. Some schools even have a category of “annual charges. So far, you have spent around Rs100,000 to 150,000 before your child is enrolled.”

Meanwhile, Transparency International has requested the chief justice of the Sindh High Court to take action against the undue fee hike by the private schools. The letter further specified that as per Section 7(3) of Private Educational Institution (Regulations and Control) Ordinance-2001 as notified by the Government of Sindh, the fee may be increased up to five percent only of last fees schedule subject to proper justification and approval of the Registration Authority.

“The school fee was increased every year without any prior notification. As salaried individuals, it is not possible for us to sustain this fee increase as our salaries do not increase in the same proportion.

“Any policy provided by the government must be followed by all citizens; any ambiguity should be discussed with government officials. However, it is the government’s responsibility to ensure that all private institutions should follow rules and regulations,” argues a senior kindergarten teacher.

“Our school issued two letters to parents, one with fee bill and one afterwards to clarify to parents that the fee increase is not something new, it happens every year. This tension in school is causing mental trouble for teachers. We are unable to focus on our teaching,” she concludes.

Saira Shahab

Educationist at the Indus Resource Centre

“The cost of running a private school is very high and to meet day-to-day expenses, the fee has to be increased annually. According to the 18th Amendment, Article 25A, the government is responsible for providing free and quality education to every child between the ages of 5-16. That means government schools are required to be functional in terms of their capacity and functionality in order to provide free education to all. Even then, it is not possible to accommodate all children in this age group in public schools. The government therefore needs to negotiate with private sector schools to accommodate some children, for which the state will pay a certain amount of money to the schools so as to provide free schooling to children. The curse of ever increasing fee structures can only end with concrete policy measures taken by the government in this regard. The government can also provide tax exemption, financial support to build infrastructure, and subsidies on equipment to the private school sector to decrease costs.”

Dr Hina Kazmi

Technical Coordinator, Pakistan

Reading Project – USAID

“The private school directorate needs to be empowered by the state, existing laws should be strengthened, and all private schools must be obliged to follow the rules and policy that determine the rate of fee being charged by the institutions and registration of institutions. In case of any violation, they must be penalised and their certification should be cancelled. School audits are essential, especially in elite schools, who have expanded their branches and need to evaluate their costs. A committee should be formed, comprising personnel from government and school management. Inspection and assessment of schools should be held regularly. Parent and teachers associations shall be formed by every institution to discuss the issues.

Dr Tariq Rehman

Distinguished linguist columnist

“Our education system is in the doldrums because it is not looked after by the state. Capitalistic enterprise has become a significant phenomenon in Pakistan; economic growth and liberalisation have resulted in the mushroom growth of schools that affected the quality of education in private schools. Since Pakistan’s educational system is plagued with disparities on every level, revolutionary measures are required to upgrade standard of education. The State needs to support private schools through financial assistance and provide subsidies as to facilitate them to work effectively.

Abbas Husain

Teachers’ Development Director

“Our children must have a friend’s circle that will be useful in future when they get to run the country. This is the unspoken agenda of parents as they wrestle with the choice of the school for their child: With which kind of people do we want our children to play with? Fight with? Grow up with? Be friends with? “Our kind” of course! And when the price for that privilege gets too high, we will protest! It’s not about anything noble as skills, or character or values. As Dr Tariq Rahman has brilliantly documented, education erodes class distinctions across the world. Only in Pakistan do we have a schooling system that maintains class divisions.”

The writer works as a research assistant at the Teachers’ Development Centre (TDC). She can be contacted at sadia.tdc@gmail.com

A flawed partnership?

By Shazia Hasan

In a village near Nawabshah, some 15-20 girls and boys aged between six and 10 parrot the lessons being imparted by their teacher. This is a public school, and it seems nobody reads from the tattered textbooks in their laps. When one of the girls is asked to read something from the book, she stares blankly at the page, before looking up in the direction of her teacher with glazed eyes and trembling lips. She can’t read a single word. The others in her class have the same problem.

This is the education status quo in Sindh, not just a situational story.

With education budgets in successive governments not proving enough to meet the need for universal education, the Benazir Bhutto-led governments of the early 1990s tried to redress the situation by asking the private sector to help out with public education.

Benazir subsequently unveiled the “Adopt a school” programme, allowing private parties to take on administrative and academic responsibilities for a public school. The government was to retain its control over land and property associated with the school. Various organisations stepped up to fill the void, including the Sindh Education Foundation (SEF), Idara-i-Taleem-o-Aagahi, CARE Foudation and The Book Group, but today, things are taking an unfortunate turn again.

“We cannot run these schools without the government’s promised subsidy,” argued Abdul Ghaffar, an operator of an Integrated Education Learning Programme (IELP) school, at a protest staged to highlight how the provincial government is failing to provide subsidies to schools.

The IELP, a brainchild of the late Prof Anita Ghulam Ali, was initiated by the Sindh Education Foundation (SEF) over four years ago, with the aim of providing quality basic education to deprived children. Today, its staff and students have staged numerous protests to have their grievance registered: money is running out.

In sweltering heat, miserable little children in school uniforms are brought to stand under the sun outside the Karachi Press Club, sharing with the media narratives about how much they love their schools and to somehow let them study there. There are teachers complaining that they haven’t been paid salaries for months. There are school owners throwing up their hands and asking why these schools were even started if the government decided to turn its back on them.

“The schools were started in March 2011 but the subsidy from the government came in August of that year. And till today, SEF has failed to provide us with timely subsidy. They owe us dues for months. Our students are waiting for books and school bags, but the government, it seems, isn’t interested in the education of poor children here,” complained Ghaffar at one of the protests.

Back in the 1990s, when the government accepted its failure of not being able to provide quality education to all the children of Pakistan, they partnered with the private sector to rectify the situation. Somewhere along the way, things have gone awry

“We alone know how we, the IELP school entrepreneurs, have been managing these schools without subsidy while paying salaries to the school staff, paying building rent and providing the children free books, etc., from our own pockets. We won’t be able to carry on like this for much longer,” warned Ali Hasan, another IELP school operator.

The problem here was that SEF was like a middleman waiting for budget allocations, the approval and release of funding from the government to pass them on to the schools as their subsidy.

Speaking on phone from Mirpurkhas, chairman of the IELP Schools Owners Association, Wajid Laghari, explains that the IELP programme began in 2011, with SEF partnering with 1,500 schools. Due to late subsidies, he claims, 300 of those schools shut down in 2012 alone while depriving 40,000 children from basic education.

“We are often informed by the SEF that they don’t have funds. Till now, more schools have closed, disturbing some 90,000 students,” Laghari says.

“When planning the IELP schools, Prof Anita Ghulam Ali had envisioned jhompari (shanty) schools. But after her, SEF’s new managing director, Naheed Shah Durrani, talks of schools on the lines of elite private schools such as Beaconhouse or Karachi Grammar School,” he says.

“She wants a good internal environment with nice buildings and new furniture and we are informed that the subsidy equalling Rs350 per child will be forwarded to us after that. We are just 10 per cent of the schools that started back in 2011, we are open but are facing great difficulty. You can’t expect us to compete with elite schools,” Laghari argues.

“Now we are engaged in talks and negotiations regarding other matters, too, like the number of students per teacher. It used to be one teacher for 40 students in one classroom. We want three teachers for 100 students. As for building schools like the grand schools, we are not rich people. Even our homes are not like that,” he asserts.

The provincial government has set an ambitious Education for All (EFA) target for this year, but in doing so, it further moved education into the direction of NGOs, faith-based organisations, teachers’ groups, private for-profit schools, private non-profit schools, community schools and philanthropic schools.

“The schools were started in March 2011 but the subsidy from the government came in August of that year. And till today, SEF has failed to provide us with timely subsidy. They owe us dues for months. Our students are waiting for books and school bags, but the government, it seems, isn’t interested in the education of poor children here.

These public-private partnerships were, after all, supposed to remedy the failure of public education and the inaccessibility of expensive private schooling by reducing the gap between the outcomes achieved by the most advantaged and least advantaged groups of society. But even after decades, this model of public-private partnerships in the education sector has yet to work optimally.

“Usually, teachers and principals of government schools that are adopted aren’t too cooperative with new managements,” argues Athar Adil Mallick, one of the adopters of Chandio Village Government Primary School, near Punjab Chowrangi in Karachi. “But we have been lucky to have gotten full support from them here.”

There was a time when Chandio Village Government Primary School didn’t even have a boundary wall. The stench of garbage, which people dumped on a vacant ground nearby, was overwhelming too. As such, this wasn’t an environment conducive for education.

Mallick’s better half, Prof Dr Sina Aziz, is the other adopter of the school. The couple have been bringing increased funding to the school, incrementally improving what needs to be improved.

“The children here are very bright. Some of the boys are very naughty but sweet too; I cannot bring myself to punish them. One of the boys, Yousuf, is often teased by the others for helping out at his father’s fruit shop after school every day. But I tell the others that Yousuf is a businessman and a success in life already,” she says.

“The aim is to provide attention to schools and bring them at par with the best private schools, if not better,”

says renowned singer and social worker, Shezad Roy, whose NGO, Zindagi Trust, adopted the SMB Fatima Jinnah Government Girls School in Karachi’s Garden West in 2007.

The trust could have easily opted to build new schools instead of adopting an old government school but there were several reasons behind their wanting to take over a government school. Central to their concerns was the idea that parents of most school-going children in Pakistan can only afford to send them to a public school.

Before Roy could lead his revolution, he assessed the school structure and facilities offered. Public schools, despite the dilapidated buildings and low attendance of teachers, still have big grounds, basic facilities and fixtures. For NGOs like Zindagi, the infrastructure could always be built upon.

The first thing was to fix the school building, which involved repairing the electric wiring, plumbing, painting the walls, and fixing the doors, broken windows and bathroom fixtures. Then came the replacement of broken furniture and old blackboards, and reassigning various rooms for different activities such a reading rooms and libraries, art rooms, science labs, computer labs, and other extracurricular activities.

But that was the simple stuff, there was another issue too.

The spacious school grounds housed several schools, which had to be merged and made into one school. Bringing up teachers’ attendance along with their performance and also having a staff of janitors, gardeners and guards was also crucial. It was also noticed that the vast school grounds would on occasion be rented out for various events — a practice that was immediately disallowed by Zindagi.

Next came the administration work, including admissions, courses, and curriculum. Roy wanted the school to be a successful model for school reform for other people and companies from the private sector to follow. The SMB Fatima Jinnah Government Girls School is among the handful of schools that offer gender sensitisation and awareness courses for students. Its students are taught about bodily space and integrity at an early age. Perhaps this is the reason that this school went from strength to strength.

Students of the school today enjoy their studies in a competitive academic environment along with several extracurricular options such as a variety of outdoor sports to excel in such as netball, basketball, throw ball, football, hockey, cricket, rowing and martial arts. For the brainy ones, there are indoor sports such as chess and public speaking competitions.

But not all public-private partnerships have worked as smoothly as Zindagi Trust. In fact, where nothing works, you find the occurrence of strange phenomena.

At another school in the katcha area or river banks bordering Ghotki, students who have never stepped out of their village are engaged in a discussion about city life and what to expect in the various cities of Pakistan. It is a Sindhi-medium school but the children also speak in English and Urdu. This is a school registered with the government, which the government doesn’t really run. As part of a corporate social responsibility venture, it has been adopted by a company.

Here’s the catch: the school is run under the patronage of Jam Khan Sundrani, a bandit.

Sundrani has built several two or three-room schools, primary and middle, which cater to landless peasants often driven out of various lands. Occasional floods often make these people homeless but where else do they go? They settle on the katcha area, which is also bandit territory.

“It is too late for me to turn over a new leaf, but I can still save the future of the children of this area,” believes Sundrani. The police usually chasing after him also thought that he made sense, and after developing an understanding with him, reached out to the local elders through his help. There was absolute consensus that they had to educate their young.

There was no electricity in the area so they brought in solar panels. The teachers were brought in by the corporation partnering with Sundrani, but it was the bandit’s responsibility to make sure they came to school every day to fulfil their responsibility. Jam Sundrani also makes sure that the student attendance in the schools doesn’t drop. The schools are also co-education.

“Students from my schools will soon be old enough assume the reins of teaching from the visiting teachers and we would become self sufficient,” an excited Jam Sundrani says. “I am making new classrooms and bathrooms for boys and girls in my new school on higher land, so that rain water doesn’t get to them,” he says, while showing around his new under-construction school to some visitors from Karachi, who politely nodded, trying not to think too much about where the money for all this was coming from.

Published in Dawn,Sunday Magazine , October 18th , 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play