Schools in residential areas annoy locals
While private schools help bridge the gap where public schools fall short in terms of providing education, however, for residents of the federal capital their presence in residential areas is a source of nuisance.
Choked traffic and a cacophony of car and bus horns is the norm on Islamabad’s already narrow roads and streets during drop-off and pick-up time at schools in residential areas which results in fender benders, bad tempers, carefully crafted insults, and extremely displeased neighbors of the schools.
One such neighbor, who lives in close proximity to a busy private school in the G-9 area is Bilal Khan, who while talking to the Express Tribune said that the school made him feel miserable at times.
“It is impossible to pass through here in the morning and afternoon. Pick-and-drop vehicles and other cars form multiple lanes and everyone parks in any nook and cranny they can find,” a visibly frustrated Bilal lamented, “I wish I could get a good price for my house so I could sell it any move somewhere peaceful.”
Similarly, Yaseen Hashmi, a resident of the I-9/3 area, complained that living close to a school was a source of constant stress for her because of all the noise and traffic. Yaseen said she had lodged multiple complaints to the city administration but nothing could be done about it. Fahim Butt, a shopkeeper in the F-8 area which is home to multiple schools and is one of the most choked areas of the city in the morning and afternoon, also had a bone to pick with the city administration for allowing schools to operate in commercial and residential areas.
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“I barely get any customers before evening because of the chaotic traffic mess that schools create.
Why do they not ask the schools to move from here?” Fahim inquired from the Express Tribune. President of All Pakistan Private Schools Management Association, Abrar Ahmad Khan, when asked about the answer to Butt’s question said that all private schools have been established by obtaining a no objection certificate (NOC) from the concerned authorities. “When parents or pick-up and drop-off vehicles arrive at the school to pick up 300 to 500 children, the traffic will obviously be disrupted for a while,” Abrar said matter-of-factly.
Abrar suggested that Islamabad has many alternative roads and residents should use them if they are in a hurry as banishing schools from the inner limits of the city was not a viable solution. A spokesman for the Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Authority, concurring with Abrar’s views, reiterated that all schools in Islamabad are registered after conducting regular inquiries and fulfilling legal requirements and further added that the traffic congestion issues were the responsibility of the district administration and the police.
While conceding that due to the influx of vehicles traffic flow was a problem, SP Traffic Islamabad, Rai Mazhar Ali, when asked about the schools in residential areas, said that additional personnel have been deployed in the areas where there are educational institutions in the morning and afternoon. “However, there are no jams or accidents as alternative routes are available to the residents.
To further facilitate people we have banned people from parking anywhere they want and traffic police personnel have tightened the check and balance on this,” Rai informed the Express Tribune.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 28th, 2022.