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Private schools in Islamabad and Rawalpindi are under fire as parents accuse them of operating like cartels, urging Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz to regulate their unchecked fee structures.
Residents across the twin cities are calling for immediate government intervention to bring transparency and control to private educational institutions’ fee practices. Families argue that enrolling children in private schools has become increasingly unaffordable for average-income households, with charges extending beyond tuition to admission, security, laboratory use, examinations, maintenance, health services, ID issuance, and even grade promotions.
Many parents blame the absence of effective oversight, claiming that private schools in Islamabad and Rawalpindi act unchecked and impose financial burdens as they wish. “While some skip admission fees, their monthly dues are excessively high,” a concerned parent stated. Meanwhile, access to federal government schools remains limited, and public education standards in Punjab are perceived as unsatisfactory.
The Private School Parents Association, backed by civil society groups, has organized protests demanding transparent regulation of private school fees. “Parents are treated like ATMs,” said Tasleem Satti, a mother whose daughter attends a private school. She criticized mandatory purchases of expensive uniforms and textbooks from school-approved vendors. According to Satti, both the Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Authority (PEIRA) and the Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) have failed to address parental complaints.
Asma Saeed, another parent, echoed these frustrations, accusing private school owners of forming cartels to justify arbitrary annual fee hikes. “They act like a cartel,” she emphasized, pointing to unjustified costs for supplies and books that strain family budgets.
Early Fee Demands Raise Further Alarm
Concerns escalated when a well-known private college demanded upfront payments for the next academic session before the current exams had even ended or roll numbers were issued. This practice left many parents feeling pressured to pay without assurances about their children’s academic status, trapping families with few alternatives and no mid-year transfer options.
Parents have laid out key demands, including capping monthly tuition, clear disclosure of annual charges, freedom to buy uniforms and materials from vendors of their choice, elimination of hidden fees, and flexible fee payment options through cheques, credit cards, and pay orders.
While some school administrators acknowledged the growing grievances, they pointed to the operational costs of running educational institutions. “Managing a school brings its own financial pressures, and we understand that affordability is a serious issue for families,” said one school official.
Still, parents remain unconvinced. Their concerns persist: if neither public nor private institutions provide accessible, quality education, where can their children go?
