Private schools body opposes smog closures

The All Pakistan Private Schools and Colleges Association (APPS&CA) has firmly rejected the decision to close educational institutions due to smog.

All Pakistan Private Schools and Colleges Association's Central President, Dr Malik Abrar Hussain said closing schools due to smog is unwise and damaging measure. "The education system is being destroyed in the country under a systematic conspiracy," he added.

In a statement issued the other day, Dr Hussain argued that educational institutions should not be shut down even in areas with heavy smog. "The advisors of the Punjab government have irresponsibly recommended school closures, even in regions with minimal or no smog," he said.

Dr Hussain expressed frustration that education often becomes the focus of disruptive experiments in Pakistan, noting that frequent closures during COVID-19, holidays for political events, and excessive seasonal breaks are all undermining the country's educational progress. He warned that this frequent closure of schools risks a severe decline in literacy rates and an increase in dropout rates, with more than 2.5 million children already out of school. "This pattern of frequent closures is pushing us towards educational backwardness, and if left unchecked, it will ruin the future of our children and the nation," he said.

He called on the government to adopt a more stable approach and avoid unnecessary interruptions to education to ensure students' continuous learning and safeguard Pakistan's educational standards.

Call for action to combat smog

Renowned Meteorologist, Anjum Nazir Zaigham, has called for planning and legislation to reduce the effects of smog caused by human activities.

The phenomenon of smog did not develop in one day or some months, it took some years to its accumulation, he said.

"We still assume that the causes of smog include the burning of remains of crops and the fuel used in factories and we are taking steps to overcome this issue, while on the contrary, major contributor of sulphur in the air is fuel used in vehicles," he said. He suggested that for the elimination and reduction of smog in the air, it was necessary to enhance the usage of fuel that contributed fewer chemicals in the environment.

He remarked that cutting of trees on regular basis and at massive level also contributed to the climate change. He requested to increase plantation at massive level to counter the negative impacts of climate change.

Professor Haroon Hameed, a health expert, also commented that quality of air index had reached at dangerous level in some cities of Pakistan. He further remarked that the smog caused medical issues in human body parts like nose, throat and ear and also enhanced the breathing issues mostly in children.

He said recent data showed that adults were facing attack of paralysis due to smog.

With additional input from APP