K-P private schools close due to association strike

Will approach high court, parents warn

PESHAWAR: Private schools across Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) on Monday closed in connection with a two-day strike against the Private Schools Regulatory Authority.

Private School Owners' Association has earlier expressed reservations over inspections by the Elementary and Secondary Education Department and the authority. The association had also objected to the elimination of school fees over summer vacations.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, the principal of a private school said staff had to be paid during vacations. “How will we pay salaries? Our staff are not robots, they need to be paid.”

The association has also been demanding an increase in representation in the authority and inclusion of educationists in top management.

K-P Education Minister Atif Khan earlier said on Sunday the authority had been constituted for the benefit of the public. In a Facebook post, the minister said payment of school transport fees over vacations will be prohibited. He said the payment of advance fee in connection with summer vacations will be prohibited too. Khan said schools would only been allowed to charge 50% fees over summer vacations to pay staff and clear other dues. The minister also added that schools would only be allowed to charge admission fees once.

Separately, parents of children staged a demonstration against school closure before the provincial assembly. They learnt about the strike upon reaching schools to drop children.

Those present at the demonstration raised slogans against the association and rapped schools for charging fees over summer. They also threatened to approach Peshawar High Court (PHC) over the  matter.