Chaos unfolds: Private schools likely to remain closed today

University buses decided to turn back as they came across burning vehicles.


Our Correspondent March 28, 2012

KARACHI: Private schools are likely to remain closed today as more violence is expected after the murders of Muttahida Qaumi Movement workers on Tuesday.

Almost all educational institutions sent children home after the MQM announced a day of mourning across the province.

As violence swept through the city, students, teaching staff and employees, oblivious to the situation, were stranded in many cases as they had already left home.

One of the Karachi University (KU) point buses, on the Gulshan-e-Hadid route, was on its way back to the university when it came across a number of burning vehicles amid intense firing near Malir 15. “The driver had no choice but to turn around and go back towards Gulshan-e-Hadid,” said an agriculture department student, Noman Abbasi. Almost 150 students and employees were on board but they were all dropped back to locations nearest to their residences. The bus driver stationed the vehicle in Gulshan-e-Hadid till afternoon to save it from being burnt.

Point buses on the Keamari and Mereweather Tower routes faced the same situation and parked at the safest places possible, said KU’s transport chairman, Zulqarnain Shadab.

However, a majority of the 27 point buses reached the university with a few students on board. The students who were at the university left for home through alternative means, since the administration did not run the point buses later in the day.

In view of the unavailability of public transport and thin attendance, the KU administration postponed all the examinations scheduled for Tuesday.

Similarly, the number of students and staff at the Federal University of Arts, Science and Technology was low due to which no academic activity took place. All students and staff left the university by 11 am.

On the other hand, most of the students and staff had arrived at the Dow University of Health Sciences campuses and Sindh Medical College, where classes start by 8:30 in the morning. As the city’s situation grew tense, the academic activities were suspended and the administration shut the university gates as a precautionary measure. Around 1 pm, students were sent home on the point buses.

Private Schools

Students make sure that they reach school on time as 99 per cent schools are conducting annual examinations of Class I to Class VIII, said the Private Schools Management Association chairman, Sharfuz Zaman.

A number of school vans and buses which got stuck due to the law and order situation, decided to turn back. Even then a large number of children had arrived at the schools. “It was an intense situation for the schools’ administration, with reports coming in of firing and arson in the city while parents made incessant phone calls to the school,” said Zaman.

He said that if political parties announce a strike or mourning, the home department should make an unequivocal announcement for closure of educational institutes to prevent any untoward incident.

“If petrol pumps around the city remain closed till midnight, then private schools will probably remain closed on Wednesday,” said Zaman.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 28th, 2012.

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