‘Action against schools not teaching national curriculum’

PESHAWAR:

Provincial Minister for Education Shahram Khan Tarakai has said that legal action will be taken against private schools which were not teaching a single national curriculum.

He also directed the education department to complete the ongoing education projects in Mardan district as soon as possible.

He said that the tender process of all the approved projects should be expedited and PC-1 of new projects should be sent for review. The minister issued these instructions while presiding over a review meeting of education projects in Mardan district. Provincial Minister for Food, Science and Information Technology Muhammad Atif Khan, Members Provincial Assembly Zahir Shah Toro, Tufail Anjum, Abdul Salam Afridi and District Education Officer Mardan, Chief Planning Officer and other officials attended the meeting.

Tarakai ordered to complete all necessary works including estimates of Government Primary School Mistriabad, Government Primary School Bago Banda, Government Primary School Sarband, Government Primary School Baroch and Government Primary School Machai and send it next week for further action. He said that besides primary schools, construction and upgradation projects of middle and higher secondary schools in Mardan district would be started soon. APP

Atif Khan directed the education officials and MPAs to select the priority projects together with the representatives and officials of the department of communications and construction and complete all the work on their part.

Atif also inquired about the vacancies of class-four in male and female schools in Mardan district and was informed that the vacancies would be advertised soon after fulfilling legal requirements. The MPAs apprised the minister of the education-related problems in their constituencies, for which Tarkai issued a directive to solve it. In addition, Tarkai directed the officials of the education department to complete the process of recruitment of temporary teachers through parent teachers’ councils as soon as possible.

He also chaired another meeting which was attended by Secretary Education Yahya Akhonzada, Special Secretary Education Shahbaz Tahir Nadeem, MD Private Schools Regulatory Authority Ahmed Zeb, Director Education Hafiz Muhammad Ibrahim and other concerned officials. During the meeting, he directed the authorities concerned to take steps for implementation of the Halka Basta Act in all private and government schools.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 12^th, 2022.