Parents and private school owners have locked horns over the issue of exorbitant fee increases. While the parents insist that these fee raises are untenable, school owners say they have the right to raise fees to meet rising costs. But even as the government sprung into action after the PM took notice of the issue, the measures it has taken so far reveal a lack of vision.

Dawn spoke to a number of educationists and experts and asked them what the way forward was, in terms of regulation of private schools.Dr Masudul Hassan, former director general of the Federal Directorate of EducationThe government has every right to keep a check on all private schools, but unfortunately, successive governments never tried to look into this issue.

We have PlERA, but that body has been dysfunctional for the past two years. The government should now come up with a permanent solution and there should be parameters for fee increases.The government must bring parents and private school owners to the table to hammer out the issue among themselves and, if need be, the government can also legislate, but more importantly, it should facilitate the formation of ParentTeacher Associations (PTA) in all private schools.

Parents currently have no say in the affairs of private schools; they can`t ask about policy matters such as fee and curriculum issues. If PTAs are formed in all schools and are active, private schools won`t be able to raise fees arbitrarily.

Baela Raza Jamil, educationistThis issue has to be approached from a consumer rights perspective. In the case of private schools, nothing is regulated and the authority set up in Islamabad, PEIRA, has never really been functional.

The other issue is on the supply side: the public sector is perceived as not doing its job right, while the private sector is giving some semblance of quality andhave decided that they will become a virtual monopoly and demand whatever price they want.

The Federal Directorate of Education is only responsible for its own schools; the ministry has no jurisdiction, and CADD is supposed to be dedicated to Islamabad. So you have a body with ten different heads in ten different places and we don`t know who is supposed to be leading this conversation.

When that authority becomes functional, they need to hear all sides of the story. They need to see what enabling environment can be created for both; providers and consumers.

They have to be assisted by a regulatory authority, which should be set up in [the way of] public-private partnerships, where parents, school owners and the govemment can carve out rules that make sense.

Dr Vardah Malik, World Bank education consultant Private schools should not have a free hand; there are currently over 70,000 private schools across Pakistan that cater to nearly 30 per cent of all enrolled students. But a vast number of them are not registered with the government`s regulators.

Our regulatory system is not up to the mark and progressive regulation is required to deal with private schools, but the issue can`t be resolved through protests either.

The government should keep a check on the quality of education being imparted in private schools, first the government should adopt a proper policy before taking action against those schools that are violating the rules and regulations.

There should also be proper criteria for the appointment of teachers, who should be paid in accordance with set rules.

Teachers` salaries are also a major part of the equation, as they directly affect fee structures.

-By Kashif Abbasi and Aasma Mojiz