PESHAWAR: Peshawar High Court has declared that civil courts lack jurisdiction to entertain civil suits related to disputes involving private schools as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Private Schools Regulatory Authority (KPPSRA) has the exclusive authority in respect of such matters.

A single-member bench of Justice Sabitullah Khan accepted revision petition of Agha Khan Secondary and Primary School, Chitral, and set aside impugned orders of an additional district judge, Chitral Lower, of Mar 18, 2025, and a civil judge, ChitralLower, of Sep 3, 2024, which were in favour of some parents regarding increase in tuition fee.

`In view of the provision of Section 27 of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Private Schools Regulatory Authority Act, 2017, the civil court lacks the jurisdiction to adjudicate upon the controversy brought by the respondents through their suitrelatingtofees, rather the regulatory authority shall have exclusive authority in respect of such matters,` the bench ruled.

It, however, referred the matter to KPPSRA, directing it to decide the dispute over fee increase by the petitioner under section 27 of KPPSRA Act, 2017, positively within a period of two months.

The bench directed KPPSRA to provide afair opportunity ofhearing to all the relevant parties with respect to all legal and factual objections.

Initially, a civil suit was filed by All Parents Association Agha Khan School, Chitral Lower, andsome of the parents, stating that their children were studying in Agha Khan Higher Secondary School Seenlast and its junior campus at Dolomuch.

Those plaintiffs claimed that in the year 2023-24, suddenly, to their utter dismay, the school fee was enhanced around 60 per cent without any lawful authority.

They claimed that the school had illegally enhanced the annual fee beyond the prescribed limits of10 per cent annualincrease as set by KPPSRA Act, 2017.

The plaintiff had contended that the huge enhancement in fee, in a non-profit educational institution, had not only created hurdles to destitute students to continue with their studies, but was also detrimental to Prince Karim Agha Khan`s mission of providing standard and affordable education.

The school authority had contested the suit on multiple grounds, contending that being a non-profit organisation the rule of 10 per cent annual increase in tui-tion fee was not applicable to it. It added that the fee had been increased to meet expenditures and maintain the standard of quality education.

The civil judge had passed a summary judgement and issued a decree in favour of the plaintiffs against Agha Khan School on Sep 3, 2024. The decree was assailed by Agha Khan School (present petitioner) and an appeal was filed before the additional district judge, Chitral Lower, which was also turned down on Mar 18, 2025.

The appellate court had ruled that the defendants (present petitioner) couldn`t increase the fee in excess of 10 per cent during an academic year, as per mandate of section 8(2) (i) of the Act read with section 7 (6) of KPPSRA Regulations, 2018.

Through the instant revision petition, the principal of Agha Khan Higher Secondary and Primary School, Seenlast and Dolomuch, challenged the said twoorders of the subordinate courts.

Barrister Isfandyar Khan represented the schooland stressed the misapplication of the law related to summary judgements. He requested the bench to set aside the two impugned judgments as the said courts had erred in interpreting the law.

Barrister AsadulMulk appeared for KPPSRA and took the stance that the impugned judgements were liable to be set aside on the issue of lack of jurisdiction.

He contended that the earlier judgement of PHC Mingora Bench, which was relied upon by the civil and district courts below had already been modified by the Supreme Court in the case of `district education officer versus The Langlands School`.

He contended that section 27 of KPPSRA Act clearly provided that the regulatory authority should have exclusive authority in respect of matters related to private schools including complaints of parents about fees and schools.