Teachers oppose ‘covert’ privatisation plan
Teachers hold a protest with placards and banners as they rally for their demands to be met at D-Chowk in Islamabad. PHOTO: INP
The Punjab caretaker government has decided to hand over at least 5,000 schools to Punjab Education Initiative Management Authority (PEIMA) with the intent of their eventual privatisation despite resistance from teachers' organisations.
Punjab SES Teachers Association President Muhammad Shafiq Bhalwalia has expressed concerns that the government intends a gradual privatisation of schools in the province.
He asserted that public schools are being phased out, a move that the association firmly opposes. Despite the passing of five years, the approval for the already upgraded schools' SNE has not been granted, nor have teachers been deployed or essential amenities provided, he lamented.
Bhalwalia criticised the ‘covert’ efforts aimed at privatising public schools as part of what he said a coordinated agenda.
He vehemently called for the reversal of this decision and said a strike, protest, and sit-in were in the offing.
Meanwhile, the provincial government has also green-lighted the upgradation of 216 schools across the province.
Besides, two schools in each division will be transformed into Punjab Public Schools and will be handed over to Punjab Daanish Schools and Centres of Excellence Authority.
The upgraded public schools will bear the title of "Punjab Public Schools," with one girl's and one boy's school selected for elevation in each division.
According to sources, training programmes will be conducted at LUMS and UIT to enhance the capabilities of model school educators.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 27th, 2023.