Private schools resume classes today

APPSF president dismisses as rumour reports that schools that remained closed

LAHORE:

Private schools that remained closed on Monday will resume classes from Tuesday, it was decided at a meeting between a delegation of the All Pakistan Private Schools Federation (APPSF), parents and government representatives including Education Minister Rana Mashhood.

Talking to The Express Tribune after the meeting, APPSF president Kashif Mirza said that 12 schools in the city had remained closed on Monday. He said the administrations of these schools had agreed to resume classes from Tuesday (today). He said the government officials had reassured school administrations and parents that all of their demands would be met. He said he was told that a notification had already been issued in this regard. Mirza dismissed as rumours reports broadcast by some news channels that the schools that refused to resume classes on Monday were using the situation to set grounds for raising tuition fees.  “School will not raise fees over the security issue. The lack of clarity over security arrangements had led to the delay,” he said.



Addressing the media, the education minister said that the government had withdrawn all FIRs against school managements.

Speaking to The Tribune, some school representatives and parents who attended the meeting said that some schools had complained of harassment by the police. They said police were accused of raiding these schools and entering the premises without verification of their identity documents at the entrance. They said that under the standard operating procedures (SoPs) issued by the government the school administrations were not allowed to let anyone enter the premises without verification of their identity documents.

The participants said that Lahore DCO Capt (r) Muhammad Usman assured the meeting that he would communicate the concerns to the capital city police officer and ensure that no such incident took place in future.

A parent present at the meeting said that he and other parents were assured by the government of foolproof security measures. He said the school representatives also assured them that revision of tuition fees would not be tied to the matter of security.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 2^nd, 2016.