Private schools in Sindh warn of reopening on June 15

Classes will be resumed in three phases, says Private Schools Action Committee head

KARACHI: Up in arms against Sindh education steering committee's decision to prolong the closure of schools in the province, Private Schools Action Committee head Pervez Haroon announced on Wednesday the reopening of all private educational institutes from June 15.

"We plan to open schools in three phases from June 15," he said, while addressing a press conference at the Karachi Press Club, providing assurances that care would be taken to observe standard operating procedures (SOPs) at all institutes.

According to Haroon, classes for the students of grades six to 10 will be resumed in the first phase, starting from June 15, the SOPs for which have been prepared.

"Classes for the students of grades three to five will then be resumed from July 1 in the second phase, and for the remaining students from July 10 in the third phase," he elaborated.

"As many as 25 million children are already out of school in the country and the decision to extend the closure of schools will double the number to 50 million," he warned. And it is not just students who have been affected by the closure of schools, but teaching and non-teaching staff, too, have been deprived of their incomes, he added.
Registering his protest, he termed the recent amendment made in education laws "illegal," outright rejecting the changes as well as the Sindh Covid-19 Emergency Relief Ordinance.

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"The ordinance can be challenged in court," he remarked, pointing out that the Sindh High Court had called for providing relief to private schools following the amendment in education laws.

Besides, he also rejected the idea of relying solely on online classes.
"The government has stressed the initiation of online classes but it is near impossible to teach primary school students remotely," he said. He further highlighted that internet was not available in all areas while some families couldn't afford smart phones.

Noting that the Sindh government had called for a smart lockdown in the province, he demanded that schools be allowed to resume classes subject to observation of standard operating procedures.

Haroon further demanded of the Sindh government to announce a relief package for schools, waive the property tax on school buildings for at least five years, make it mandatory for parents to pay their children's school fees by the 10th of every month, as was the case in Punjab, and devise a policy for action against defaulters.

Haroon appealed to Prime Minister Imran Khan, Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed, Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and Sindh Governor Imran Ismail to permit the reopening of schools, assuring that care would be taken to observe standard operating procedures at all institutes.