Providing an alternate: Around 21 schools to open in Islamabad

PM to inaugurate one public sector school after his return from US

ISLAMABAD: The government in a move to make education more accessible is set to construct 21 new schools in Islamabad, Capital Administration and Development Division State Minister Usman Ibrahim said on Tuesday.

Talking at a consultative workshop with parents of students of private schools over the fee hike and other related issues, he said the government was committed to enhancing the capacity of public educational institutes.

He stated that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, after his return from the US, would inaugurate one of those schools in the rural areas of the capital. It was claimed that the model school will be replicated in all public sector schools of the capital.

Earlier, Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Authority (PEIRA)’s acting chairperson Syed Junaid Akhlaq briefed visiting parents about the updated report regarding the fee hike and its response from private schools. He said around 205 such institutes have sent a written compliance of not raising the fee as per directives of CADD and the premier issued in September.

Ibrahim, in response to a question, replied that they were formulating rules and bylaws to cap the fee structure and address all complaints of parents. The private institutions are violating several laws including non-provision of facilities and charging for it along with the fee, he said.

One of the parents, Bushra Khan, complained that in a private school in Sector F-6, used books were sold to students for Rs20,500 while another branch of the same school in the rural areas charged Rs32,000 against books for the same grade. She questioned the minister as to why there were no rules to muzzle such exploitation. The minister assured her that he would look into the matter.

Another parent commented that till the 1980s public model colleges were autonomously run by a governing body to oversee policies, functions and other affairs of these institutions. “The decline started when the autonomy was abolished and things went into the hands of bureaucrats and today the exodus to private institutes is a testimony to this fact,” he remarked. He suggested the same autonomy for insertions and governed by retired principals of such schools and colleges.

Aliya Agha, member of the Private Schools Parents Association, said she was expecting good outcome from CADD’s initiatives and was “hopeful to see these institutions controlled and monitored as per PEIRA bylaws.”

The meeting took place two days after the PM expressed displeasure over the non-implementation of free and compulsory education Article 25-A in the Islamabad Capital Territory.

He assigned his daughter Maryam Nawaz to ensure that the programme of 100 enrolments is implemented in “true letter and spirit”.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 21^st, 2015.