Schools’ management: Children miss school over closure confusion

All schools to observe three days of mourning, classes will continue as per schedule

LAHORE: Many parents complained that their children missed classes or were late to school on account of contradictory statements about schools’ closure on Monday.

In a statement released early on Monday morning, All Pakistan Private Schools Federation (APPSF) president Kashif Mirza had said that schools would remain closed to mourn the loss of lives in the attack and to express solidarity with the relatives of the deceased.

However, a Pakistan Education Council (PEC) spokesperson later announced that schools associated with the council, most of them also members of the APPSF, would remain open.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, several parents said that they did not send their children to school on account of the APPSF announcement. They said the PEC’s statement came when the classes were already in session. Some said they managed to send their children to school but they could not get there on time.

Maria Imran, whose two children go to a private school, said that when she received a text message from the administration telling the parents that the school was open on Monday it was too late for her to send her children to school.

She said she had not made any arrangements for the children to go to school because of the earlier announcement that schools would remain closed for a day.  Another parent, Mubashir Hayat, said that he watched the news of schools’ closure before going to bed at around 1245am on Monday morning. However, he said, when he woke up in the morning he received a text message from the administration telling the parents that the school would remain open. He said he had to wake up his child and send him to the school in a rush.  All public schools in the city remained open on Monday.

Meanwhile, a notification to all Education EDOs said that three days of mourning would be observed at all public schools.  It said no ceremonies would be held at schools and the national flags would be hoisted at half-mast. However, classes would continue as per schedule, it added.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 29^th, 2016.