Ban on private academies alarms teachers

Recommendation banning government instructors from running private academies is under consideration

RAHIM YAR KHAN:  

Recent rumours regarding introducing a ban on private academies have caused a ripple of concern among teachers at government institutions, Express News has learnt.

Majority of the teachers run their own private academies in all three divisions of south Punjab including Rahim Yar Khan. Many instructors offer tuitions to students during the evening at their own educational institutes.

However, due to complaints from the public, a recommendation to ban government teachers from running their own private academies is currently under consideration. According to the recommendation, teachers who will violate this ban will be charged under the Punjab Employees Efficiency, Discipline and Accountability (PEEDA) Act, 2006.

This has worried professors, lecturers and teachers at government institutions who run their own private academies and also offer after school tutoring to students. They maintained that enforcing such a ban would be a grave injustice.

They elaborated that their private academies and tuitions do not interfere with their official duties since they begin after work hours have ended, similar to how a government doctor has a private clinic.

“The decision to ban private academies is tantamount to banning education,” said schoolteacher Jam Muhammad. The government should review the recommendation and not take any steps in this regard, he adds.

Not all government teachers are running private academies, claimed ninth grade teacher Riaz Ahmed.

When contacted by Express News, District Education Authority CEO Malik Mukhtiar said that teachers are architects of the nation. They should continue to teach in order to propagate education and for charity. However, they should avoid becoming in the private academies as they are businesses, he stressed.