Private schools get one week to register

Rawalpindi authorities warn of permanent sealing in crackdown

RAWALPINDI:

The District Registration Authority for Schools in Rawalpindi has issued red notices to all unregistered private schools across the district, giving them a one-week deadline to complete their registration.

The authorities have warned that all unregistered private schools will be permanently sealed in a grand operation after the deadline expires.

The authority has also approved third-party safety audits of private school buildings and government school buildings and formally constituted a committee for the purpose.

Registration has been approved for 34 new private schools, which have been directed to establish IT and science laboratories and submit the relevant certificates.

The important meeting was chaired by Additional Deputy Commissioner for Social Services Fazail Mudassir. Officials from the education and buildings departments, along with representatives of private school associations, also attended.

The registration process of one school was deferred because its documents were incomplete. The meeting also approved fines for institutions that violated government orders during the summer vacations.

The third-party school building safety audit committee will be headed by the additional commissioner.

Its members will include the chief executive officer of education, the executive engineer of the buildings department and the deputy director of development.

Abrar Ahmed Khan, a member of the District Registration Authority, expressed concern over notices issued by certain tehsil municipal administration officials during safety audits, directing schools to convert their buildings to commercial use.

He called on the relevant authorities to take immediate notice of the matter.

The additional deputy commissioner said no unregistered private school would be allowed to operate in the future. He added that all schools whose buildings were declared unsafe would also be sealed, stressing that the lives of children were their highest priority.

Standardised paint colours

On the other hand, the Strategic Management Unit (SMU) of the Punjab School Education Department has given final approval to paint colours, codes and finishes for buildings being constructed under the provincial development project, "Additional Classrooms, Missing Facilities, Dangerous Buildings and SMC Classrooms", across government schools in the province.

An official letter has been issued by the Chief Works and Infrastructure Development of the Strategic Management Unit, School Education Department. According to the letter, only paint from the approved brand, Pro Paints, will be used on school buildings.