WITH the country badly in need of a system of cost rationalisation, the Sindh High Court`s recent intervention on behalf of families of children enrolled in private schools may not bring huge relief to the overburdened. The court ruled that the annual increase in fees cannot exceed 5pc. This would appear to be a very reasonable and timely ruling by the court, but if Punjab`s experience is anything to go by, private schools in Sindh will eventually get around the `snag` and find ways of introducing more than a 5pc annual hike. Lahore has been resonating with long negotiations between private school owners and the government ever since a law was introduced last year forcing the schools to keep the fee increase below 5pc, at least for the time being. Following a lull during which parents were spared the dreaded fee shocks, the tradition of sudden and steep rises has returned in recent months.

For instance, a top-of-the-line chain in Lahore raised the threemonthly fee of a Class 5 student from around Rs57,000 to Rs 62,000.

Likewise, the fee of a Class XI student was raised to Rs80,000 from Rs72,000. In both cases, the revision is more than the 5pc allowed by the law passed last year with much fanfare. The school may justify its move by arguing that it had been more than a year since it last raised the fee, but there are reports that the Shahbaz Sharif government actually yielded to the owners` plea for permission to raise the ceiling to 7pc-8pc. Not only this, some private schools have been found setting new benchmarks in bad manners and offering lessons in how not to conduct oneself. The social media was recently abuzz with news about how a reputed school had told the parents of a student to pay up or be ready for humiliation. Such notices, lacking in respect, are becoming increasingly routine. And respect it is which should form the basis of any education.