ISLAMABAD: A meeting between the representatives of private schools and Minister of State for Education Balighur Rehman remained inconclusive on Thursday. However, the minister told the owners of private schools that the unjustified fee increase was not acceptable at any cost.

The next round of discussion on the issue will be held on Friday (today). It may be noted that the Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) on Wednesday issued a notification that all fee and ancillary charges issued by the private schools `will stand frozen at the level of August 31, 2015.

However, the private school owners rejected the notification. The education minister on Thursday defended the notification and said the private schools had massively increased the fees.

`Under the law, an approval should have been taken for the fee increase,` he said, adding fees should be increased in accordance with theinflation rate. He said under the current inflation rate, there was no justification for increasing the school fees. The minister, however, said the government would resolve the issue amicably.

Parents whose children are pursuing education in elite schools staged protest demonstrations against the abrupt fee hike by private schools. They said they were forced to pay unjustified high fee along with several other charges.

`We are left at the mercy of the private school mafia, they charge us whenever they want, said Nasir Khan, whose son goes to an elite school. He said the private schools did not follow any mechanism and rules while increasing the fees.

He said there was also no proper platform for the parents to register their complaints against the schools. `The so-called Private Educational Institution Regulatory Authority (PEIRA) is a white elephant. Earlier, it had a website where parents could lodge their complaints against private schools but now it is also not working,` he said.

Meanwhile, speaking to Dawn, Director Beaconhouse School System Nassir Kasuri said elite private schools increased fee in accordance with previous year`s trend.

`Every year we have to face 10 per cent increase in terms of building rents where after expiry of the contract with the landlord after everyñveyearswehavetoface over30percentincrease in rent. We also have to increase the salaries of our employees every year,` he said and added that the notification of CADD was irrational.

`I agree if any school has increased the fees more than that of the previous year (percentage wise), its management should be asked to readjust the fee. But this is a wrong notion that all the elite schools have increased their fees massively,` he said, adding the government should resolve the issue keeping all the realities in view.

Sources said during the meeting the minister told the representatives of private schools that the government would not accept an illogical increase in the fees.

He gave the private school operators a chance to come up with a solution otherwise the state would issue its directives. He told them that an unjustified fee hike was not acceptable to anyone.

`Increase in fee, if any, should not be more than the current rate of inflation and it should not be done without any established mechanism,` he said.

Representatives of the private schools briefed the minister about their concerns and reasons behind the fee hike. They pleaded that the increase in inflation, advance taxes and the rent of buildings were the major causes of the fee increase. They said they paid handsome salaries to their teachers and staff and provided upgraded security facilities to the students.