Government privatises 4,789 more schools

RAWALPINDI:

The Punjab School Education Department has privatised an additional 4,789 public schools in the second phase of its ongoing privatisation drive.

The list of these schools has now been made public. With this phase, the total number of public schools in Punjab has dropped further to 38,154.

The third phase of the privatisation plan is scheduled to take place after Eid, with applications already being invited. In this phase, 5,100 more schools will be sold, further reducing the total count of public schools to 33,054.

Initially, Punjab had 48,790 government schools. The first phase saw 5,857 schools privatised, bringing the number down to 42,937.

The third phase is expected to be completed by May 31, before the summer break.

Alongside this, the education department has initiated a "rationalisation" process for teachers and non-teaching staff, seeking data from education officers to determine staffing adjustments.

Sources indicate that schools with less than 100 students will be prioritised for privatisation in this phase.

In the second phase, 45 per cent of the privatised schools were handed over to NGOs, while the rest were transferred to individuals, including entrepreneurs.

The finalisation of the school list was delayed by a month due to extended scrutiny, as over 20,400 applications were received from across Punjab.