Schools sans students transport service risk registration

Owners ignoring court order face cancellation of registration

LAHORE:

The Punjab School Education Department has warned the major private educational institutions of cancellation of registration over not providing transport services to their students.

According to officials, the provincial school education secretary has immediately demanded action plans regarding transport services from the schools and said that no relaxation will be given to the owners over the issue.

However, private school groups are yet to frame any strategy for providing transport services to the students.

The Punjab School Education Department decided to take strict action against the elite private schools in the provincial capital as they are continuosly ignoring a Lahore High Court order to facilitate their students with transport services.

The court, hearing a petition about smog, had ordered the major private schools in Lahore to provide transport services to 60 per cent students.

The aim of the decision was to reduce the intensity of smog and air pollution as thousands of private vehicles come on roads during the opening and closing hours of the schools. The issue is more serious in the posh areas of Lahore where high Air Quality Index was recorded in recent months during the smog season.

Following the Lahore High Court order, the Punjab School Education Department moved to implement it and advised the big schools groups several times to submit an action plan on how they would provide transport facilities to students.

However, the sources in the department said the most expensive schools in the city did not take the issue seriously and have not submitted any action plan for the purpose.

The sources said the school education secretary had decided to cancel registration of those elite schools that are ignoring the issue.

"The LHC ordered provision of transport services to 60 per cent students within 30 days. The secretary for schools has already met owners of private school chains," said a senior official of the department.

During a meeting last week, private schools owners had said it was difficult to immediately fulfil the order.

However, they had been told that no excuse would be accepted over the high court order.

The official said the school owners had also been told that no compromise would be made over the quality of buses but cause the purpose of the move was to reduce smog.

After the meeting, the private school owners did not inform the department about their action plan.

"So it has been decided that the school education department will cancel the registration of all those upscale schools that will not submit a plan regarding transport facility for 60 per cent students.

If they are earning through schools then it is also their responsibility to provide transport to their students," the official of Punjab School Education Department said.

The department issued final notices to the big schools and warned that their registration would be cancelled if they would not reply regarding their action plan.