‘Schools to reopen on August 15’

'School owners, teachers dying by suicide but the govt doesn't care'

KARACHI:

Private schools will be reopened from August 15 in light of a mutual decision made by the National Education Conference, Islamabad, stated Private Schools Action Committee leader Pervez Haroon.

Addressing a press conference at the Karachi Press Club on Tuesday, he said that the situation related to the coronavirus pandemic in the country had greatly improved.

"School owners and teachers are dying by suicide, but the government does not care," he claimed, adding that they could not tolerate the closure anymore.

However, he added that schools located in union councils where the virus situation was still worrisome would not be reopened on the aforementioned date.

According to Haroon, representatives of private educational institutions had gathered in Islamabad on July 20 and decided to reopen schools for 74 per cent of the stakeholders who had supported the idea of reopening the schools. "The government can give suggestions if they have any," he added.

Haroon stated that certificates for students' promotion would be issued soon while the results for Grade 9 and 10 would also be announced.

Meanwhile, Sindh All Private Schools Management Association chairperson Syed Tariq Shah demanded the immediate reopening of the educational institutions in the province.

Moreover, he called for the revocation of taxes on school management as well as interest-free loans for them.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 5^th, 2020.