SHC orders private schools to provide free education to needy students

KARACHI: Sindh High Court (SHC) Sukkur Bench has ordered all private schools throughout the province to impart free education to at least 10 per cent of poor and deserving students.

The SHC, in a written judgment, asserted explicitly that schools that do not take on board 10 per cent of underprivileged children in proportion to their overall enrollments will have their registration suspended.

The SHC constitutional bench, which included Justice Zulfiqar Ali Sangi and Justice Riazat Ali Sahar, took strong exception to the failure of private schools to follow court orders.

The court asked the Director of Private Schools to file a detailed report on the performance of all private schools in Sindh within three months.

Justice Zulfiqar Ali Sangi noted that according to Article 25-A of the Constitution, free education is the duty of the state for every child between 5 and 16 years old.

The court adjourned the proceedings until November 10. Previous month, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) ordered private schools in the federal capital to provide a detailed report on implementing the legal mandate to offer free education to 10% of disadvantaged students.

According to the Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2012, private educational institutions in Pakistan are under a statutory obligation to give free education to at least 10% of their total enrolled students belonging to disadvantaged groups.

In the course of a hearing of a petition regarding failure to implement this act, Justice Inaam Ameen Minhas passed a one-page written order.

The court asked the Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Authority (PEIRA) to gather and provide detailed data from all private schools.