LAHORE: Punjab Minister for Schools Education Murad Raas on Thursday assured the parents of private school students of establishing a complaint cell and evolving a regulatory regime to determine the increase in fee.

He was presiding over a meeting with the parents action committee at Quaid-i-Azam Academy for Educational Development. More than 300 parents of students enrolled in private schools, secretary school education department Imran Sikandar Baloch, QAED director general Iqbal Hussain and other officials attended the meeting.

The parents had presented a four-point agenda to the minister including implementation of Lahore High Court (LHC) order toframe uniform regulatory regime through rules under section 13 of the Ordinance of 1984 to determine the increase claimed by schools in fee while also considering the actual cost and expenses incurred and profits made by private educational institutions.

On April 5, a LHC full bench led by Justice Abid Aziz Sheilch had directed the then government to implement the order within 90 days but the order was not implemented till to date.

The parents also demanded to implement LHC order to notify `The Punjab Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2014` to ensure enforcement of fundamental right of education under Article 25-A of the Constitution and also responsibility of private schools for free education. Under the Act, the private institutions were directed toprovide 10pc free education to poor children of the community.

They also demanded that a system be devised to check fee level of the private institutions that it should remain affordable for parents that belong to middle class.

They further demanded that the private educational institutions be directed to introduce sibling discount in fee and action be taken against those institutions involved in detaining the students in libraries over fee issue and not allowing them to sit the exams.

They also stressed to make a system to determine fee in summer vacation and third-party audit of private schools and also proposed to set up parents body in public and private schools.

Mr Raas said the government would help the parents decrease the burden offee for provision ofquality education to theirchildren in collaboration with all stakeholders. He said regulatory authority would be established to maintain effective check and balance on private schools in the province.

The minister assured the parents that complaints cell would be set up to solve their issues and he would personally monitor the performance. He also assured the parents that mechanism would have to be devised about opening of private schools and everyone would not have the permission to start a school.

`I will also meet private schools owners and solid steps will be taken to improve the situation,` he said.

The minister said the private sector was playing an important role in the promotion of education and quality education was the basic right of every child.