All Pindi schools reopen today

Provincial govt agrees to take back FIRs, warns schools of being sealed if they fail to meet security standards

RAWALPINDI:

The confusion surrounding the reopening of private schools in Punjab cleared on Sunday following successful talks between All Pakistan Private Schools Management Association (APPSMA) and the provincial education minister.

All public and private schools in Rawalpindi will reopen today.



Rawalpindi chapter President of the All Pakistan Private Schools Management Association Abrar Ahmed Khan told The Express Tribune that they had agreed to reopen schools on Monday after the Punjab government agreed to cancel FIRs registered against the 618 schools across Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa for failing to meet security standards.

Khan expects low attendance due to panic and fear that had spread across the country. He, however, noted that the law enforcement agencies had assured school administrations the provision of security.

The association had announced on Saturday that private schools would not open until the provincial government met their two demands.

While the Punjab government agreed to take back the FIRs against the schools managements, Provincial Minister for Education Rana Mashood also warned educational institutes that if they failed to bring their security arrangements at par with the set standards, the provincial government will be forced to shut them.



Security arrangements

Following the announcement, the city district government in Rawalpindi made arrangements to reopen all public and private schools in the city.

An official in the district government, requesting anonymity, told The Express Tribune that security agencies had made security arrangements for the 496 ‘sensitive schools’ in the district.

The official further said that the provincial government had earlier decided to carry out three surveys to ensure security for schools. While two surveys had been carried out, he said the third survey was to be carried out by relevant assistant commissioners and the deputy superintendents of police in their respective areas after the schools reopened.

Elaborating the security arrangements, the official said that some 6,000 mobile SIMs had been distributed among schools across Rawalpindi division. An ‘emergency panic button system’ was also put in place, he added.

The government had provided an emergency security code to all schools to alert law enforcement agencies through mobile text messages in case of a terrorist attack. The security forces, he explained, would be able to respond to an emergency situation within 10 minutes.



The district government has also issued some 350 licenses for non-prohibited arms to different schools in Rawalpindi. As many as 147 semi-automatic weapons would be provided to guards of sensitive public schools.

The official further said that heads of some sensitive schools have asked for licenses to keep AK-47s. The district coordination officer has sought permission of the Punjab Home Department in the matter.

In regards to the security of schools in Rawalpindi’s cantonment areas, the provincial government has signed an agreement with a company called Askari Guards who will ensure security in the 55 schools in the area.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 1^st,  2016.