Private schools, madrassas warn of long march

Private schools and madrassas on Sunday warned that they would stage a long march and a sit-in in front of the parliament building in Islamabad if educational institutions were not allowed to reopen from September 15 with all classes restarting.

The government has decided to reopen educational institutions from the mid of the ongoing month after keeping them closed for almost six months to prevent the spread of the coronavirus pandemic but an inter-provincial education ministers’ conference will make the final decision on Monday (today) after taking the situation into consideration.

The government also intends to restart classes in a phase-wise manner, beginning from grade 9 and above for a week and then proceeding further.

Addressing a joint news conference at the National Press Club in Islamabad, the officials of the All Pakistan Private Schools and Colleges Association (APPSCA) and the Ittehad-e-Tanzeemat-e-Madaris Pakistan (ITMP) said they would not tolerate further delay in the reopening of educational institutions.

APPSCA President Kashif Mirza lashed out at the government for not assisting teachers through its Ehsaas programme during the closure of schools and colleges.

“I have attended the funeral prayers for around 500 people affiliated with the educational sector?” he claimed. How many more funerals will I have to attend?”

Mirza said a survey had found that around 84% of parents were in favour of reopening schools.

The APPSCA official pointed out that educational institutions in the colder areas of the country were shut since the past 10 months if their winter vacation was also taken into account.

He maintained that the health ministry, during a meeting of the National Command and Operations Centre on Covid-19, had recommended restarting classes for young children.

Mirza said the associations of private schools and seminaries had chalked out “plans A, B, and C” for their protest campaign if their demands were not accepted.

"We will formally announce our course of action after the government's decision tomorrow [Monday]," he added. “Our protest will continue until our demands are met.”

Speaking on the occasion, APPSCA Central Chapter President Malik Abrar said the closure of educational institutions had affected 40 million students.

He added that the government had not allocated a relief package for educational institutions in the budget for the fiscal year 2020-21.

Abrar demanded that all classes, starting from the level of playgroup, should be allowed to reopen from September 15.

Moulana Abdul Quddus Muhammadi, the spokesperson for the Wifaq-ul-Madaris Al-Arabia, said schools, seminaries and colleges should be allowed to reopen like other sectors in the country.