ISLAMABAD: Jolted into action after the PM took notice of protests against exorbitant fee increases by private schools, the Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) secretary on Wednesday met with the heads of private schools and affected parents, in the hopes of hammering out a compromise.

However, a subsequent notification detailing the points agreed-upon during the meeting, which directed that all fees and ancillary charges `will stand frozen at the level of August 31, 2015`, was challenged by private school owners, who claimed that such a measure had not been discussed with them.

Following orders from the PM, issued during a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, the CADDsecretary met with owners and representatives of private educational institutions in an effort to resolve the fee issue.

A notification issued after the meeting stated that it was agreed that, `All the private educational institutions will resolve the grievances of the parents within two weeks,` and that, `no students will be expunged... on the basis of non-payment of increased fee`.

Earlier, CADD Secretary Khalid Hanif had also met with the protesting parents of private school students. Sources privy to these meetings told Dawn that the parents asked for a proper mechanism to deal with theincrease offees andsaidthatitshouldbe linked with the Consumer Price Index.

They also called on the government to appoint a competent officer to head the Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Authority (PEIR A), which has been headless for nearly two years now.

Schools representatives also made a case for the fee raises, saying that they had to pay for an annual 10 per cent increase in building rent and raise teachers` salaries.

After the meetings, Mr Hanif directed theschools` operators to address the parents` grievances within two weeks.

He told Dawn that after hearing both sides, CADD had stopped private schools from charging increased fees until the issue was resolved.

`You could say that, for the time being, [CADD] has resolved the issue, but the final decision will be taken by Minister of State for Education Baleeghur Rahman, who has been asked to resolve this issue by the PM, Mr Hanif said.

But after the notification was issued, private schools` representatives were livid.

Faisal Mushtaq, Chief Executive of the Roots Millennium Schools who attended the meeting with the CADD secretary said that the notification was unacceptable to private school operators.

`While the meeting was held in a cordial atmosphere and we agreed to hear the grievances of the parents and will resolve our issues within two-weeks, the subsequent notification stated that monthly tuition fees, including ancillary charges, will stand frozen at the August 31, 2015 level. This was never discussed during the meeting,` hesaid.

`In light of this notification, parents will now demand that we pay back the extra fees they have paid, which is something we can`t afford,` he said.

But Aliya Baig, who is leading the campaign against private schools, called the notification `short-term relief`.

`Parents and private school owners will meet to come up with tangible solutions. We (parents) are not going to pay generator charges, book charges, and uniform charges asked for by the schools,` Ms Baig said, adding that parents who had already paid the increased fees would have their amounts adjusted in subsequent fee bills.

PM to meet CMs Separately, PM Nawaz Sharif has asked to meet all four provincial chief ministers to discuss the issue of private schools` fees. A brief statement from the PM House, issued on Wednesday, did not specify when the meeting would be held, only that he had directed the relevant ministries to resolve the problem as soon as possible.