PEIRA to bring tuition centres under registration net

Private schools’ body rules out extension in winter vacations, all private schools in federal capital opens today

ISLAMABAD: The Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Authority (PEIRA) has decided to bring the tuition academies under the registration net.

The regulatory authority has also announced that it would refrain from shutting down and sealing private schools over trivial matters.

The PIERA Chairperson Syeda Zia Batool said that the authority would also take steps for devising new rules for private educational institutions and awarding scholarships to the needy students enrolled in private schools.

Batool said that all resources would be utilised to make the private schools educational-friendly.

An official of the education department requesting anonymity said that the PEIRA has decided to carry out registration of the tuition academies which usually operate in the evening and measure will be taken to bring them under the ambit of law along with assisting them in case of any difficulty. It will help generate tax revenue, besides securing rights of students.

The official added that immunisation against intestinal worms of students enrolled in all private schools in Islamabad was already underway. Besides this, the authority has also decided to award scholarships to the underprivileged deserving students studying in private schools to restrict them from dropping-out due to financial constraints. For this purpose, the PEIRA would carry out a registration process after which the shortlisted students would be awarded scholarships.

Further, the authority with input from all the stakeholders would devise new and improved rules for private educational institutions.

The PEIRA has further pledged for the provision of all required facilities to the private institutions against which they will have to maintain international standards for classrooms, teachers and other things.

The PEIRA chairperson extended her full support to the educational institutions and assured that unnecessary irregular sealing of schools would not be carried out in the future.

Winter break extension opposed

The All Pakistan Private Schools and Colleges Association (APPSCA) has ruled out any kind of extension in winter breaks and announced that all private schools in Islamabad would reopen today (Monday).

The APPSCA Head Malik Abrar said that extending vacations would disturb the entire schedules of schools.

The official said that the classes would resume today (Monday) in all schools according to the routine timetable. He added that the annual examination was fast approaching and there was only a short time left, therefore, he contended, any kind of delay in the reopening of schools had become nearly impossible.

In this regard, the Islamabad Private Schools Association (PSA) Secretary Abdul Waheed Khan said that the vacations had ended and confirmed that there had been no decision on extending them so far.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 6^th, 2020.