Post-blast panic: Schools to remain open today

LAHORE: Anxious parents rushed to get their children back to the safety of home as fear gripped the city after news of the blast in Defence on Thursday.

Most schools in the provincial capital have announced they will open as per schedule on Friday.



At a private school in Gulberg, van driver Zeeshan said he started receiving phone calls from worried parents to inquire if he had picked up their children, “They wanted me to go and pick up their kids from school immediately, while some of them had reached the institute by the time I got there.”

Other educational institutions, including the Kinnaird College for Women, closed down for the day.

Most of the schools announced they would remain open as per schedule on Friday (today). DHA Spokesperson Ijaz Masood Hayat said the DHA Education System, including schools and colleges, would resume classes and that rumours circulating on social media were false.

All Pakistan Private Schools Federation (APPSF) announced that institutes falling under its umbrella would remain open and regular schedule would be followed on Friday. APPSF also demanded the government provide security to private educational institutions.

Some small-scale schools, mostly pre-schools, announced a holiday on Friday and parents were informed through SMS.



Meanwhile, Superintendent Security Ibadat Nisar told The Express Tribune that parents did not need to panic as security of educational institutions was a top priority. Nisar added that police had been especially deployed to ensure the security of schools, colleges and universities.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 24^th, 2017.