CM to visit schools after reopening

Committees to be formed to ensure schools implement SOPs

LAHORE: The School Education Department (SED) has directed the DCOs to make arrangements for the chief minister’s visits to schools.

A letter has been issued to DCOs in this regard.

“Schools are reopening from August 15. It is imperative that students are provided a befitting environment for quality education. In the last five years, the government has invested heavily in building school infrastructure and providing missing facilities. It has provided non-salary budgets to schools to meet their local needs. This year, the government has invested in human resource and infrastructure under School Improvement Programme. The cost-intensive programme requires provincial and district leadership to make it a success. The chief minister has desired to visit schools on a daily basis across the Punjab to ascertain the performance of the department and the districts,” the letter states.

The DCOs are further instructed to play a leadership role in this regard. “They should constitute two committees. The first, chaired by themselves (the DCO), consisting of the education EDO and the district monitoring officer. The second committee, to be constituted at the tehsil-level, should have the assistant commissioner as its chairman. The education DDOs should be its secretaries and senior high school head teachers its members,” the letter states.

The letter states that the committees should ensure all schools complied with a checklist. The list lays down that school premises, rooftops, toilets must be properly cleaned and whitewashed. Lawns and grounds should be well-maintained. Computer and science labs should be fully functional. The record of school council meetings should be up-to-date. Plans should be formulated for the utilisation of non-salary budgets.

The letter directs the DCOs and the ACs to visit at least two schools every week.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 4^th, 2016.