Agitated parents unite against new campus in SITE
The Generation’s School’s plans to expand have been met by resistance from some parents.
KARACHI:
The Generation’s School’s plans to expand have been met by resistance from some parents who fear that a new campus in SITE is not in their children’s best interests.
In July, the North Nazimabad school announced its decision to move classes III to A’ Levels to SITE. The younger students will stay behind at the existing campus.
“We have been aspiring to shift to a bigger and better location for a long time so that we can impart quality education with more efficiency and commitment,” said Dr Ghazala Siddiqui, owner of the school. “Had we not been satisfied ourselves we would not have decided to move.”
Some parents say, however, that they were kept in the dark. “The fact that the school is under construction in SITE means that they had planned this a long time ago,” said a parent, T, requesting anonymity. “Why were we not informed of it when we were committing the academic futures of our children with this institution?”
Around 400 parents took to the streets on Sunday to protest the decision. Some parents created a website (www.parents.gs) to win others over to the cause and post updates on negotiations with the school management. There have been at least three meetings.
The parents have several concerns. The main ones are pollution, security and inconvenience. “Who would want to send their child to the ‘clash point’ of the city where conflicts and gun battles take place every day,” said Mrs A, whose son studies at the school.
For her part, Dr Ghazala Siddiqui felt that the law and order situation in the city was unstable in almost every locality. At one meeting, the two sides agreed that in an event of disturbance in the city, the children will remain in the campus building until late in the day, so that they do not come in harm’s way.
Parent T told The Express Tribune that they were in touch with Shehri - Citizens for a Better Environment, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Karachi Building and Control Authority to get their input on the school’s decision. They are examining the laws that govern the conversion of plots.
When one parent said that the new plot was actually a gutted paint factory and was therefore heavily polluted, school owner Siddiqui said that the school had requested the Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research to carry out a survey to find out the level of pollution in SITE. The results showed that pollution was higher in Saddar and Korangi compared to SITE, she added. However, in a note posted on the website, the parents reported that no documentary evidence of the PCSIR study was presented. They have, however, requested the school to put the complete study on school’s website so that it can be compared with others.
Some parents are unhappy with the shift because of the commute. For Mrs F the decision is inconvenient. She has two sons, one of whom is in the nursery while the other one in class III. “Since I drive my children to school, it will be impossible for me to pick and drop both of them from different campuses, twice a day,” she said, worried about the heavy traffic movement and accidents common in SITE.
In order to mitigate this problem, the school said that it would arrange a shuttle service through private contractors to provide transportation between the two campuses.
And while the parents may be fighting with the school authorities, some children are happy about the relocation. “It’s bigger and it even has a swimming pool,” exclaimed a student of class VI, who knows this because pictures have been put up all over the school. However, parent Mrs F felt that this was just the administration’s attempt to win over the children.
The parents may not have much of a choice if the school decides to go ahead with the plan. “The school does not realise that it is not easy to have your children admitted to a decent school these days,” said one parent, who felt that the move will cause “psychological and emotional stress” for some children who have spent their entire academic life at the old campus.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 9th, 2010.
The Generation’s School’s plans to expand have been met by resistance from some parents who fear that a new campus in SITE is not in their children’s best interests.
In July, the North Nazimabad school announced its decision to move classes III to A’ Levels to SITE. The younger students will stay behind at the existing campus.
“We have been aspiring to shift to a bigger and better location for a long time so that we can impart quality education with more efficiency and commitment,” said Dr Ghazala Siddiqui, owner of the school. “Had we not been satisfied ourselves we would not have decided to move.”
Some parents say, however, that they were kept in the dark. “The fact that the school is under construction in SITE means that they had planned this a long time ago,” said a parent, T, requesting anonymity. “Why were we not informed of it when we were committing the academic futures of our children with this institution?”
Around 400 parents took to the streets on Sunday to protest the decision. Some parents created a website (www.parents.gs) to win others over to the cause and post updates on negotiations with the school management. There have been at least three meetings.
The parents have several concerns. The main ones are pollution, security and inconvenience. “Who would want to send their child to the ‘clash point’ of the city where conflicts and gun battles take place every day,” said Mrs A, whose son studies at the school.
For her part, Dr Ghazala Siddiqui felt that the law and order situation in the city was unstable in almost every locality. At one meeting, the two sides agreed that in an event of disturbance in the city, the children will remain in the campus building until late in the day, so that they do not come in harm’s way.
Parent T told The Express Tribune that they were in touch with Shehri - Citizens for a Better Environment, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Karachi Building and Control Authority to get their input on the school’s decision. They are examining the laws that govern the conversion of plots.
When one parent said that the new plot was actually a gutted paint factory and was therefore heavily polluted, school owner Siddiqui said that the school had requested the Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research to carry out a survey to find out the level of pollution in SITE. The results showed that pollution was higher in Saddar and Korangi compared to SITE, she added. However, in a note posted on the website, the parents reported that no documentary evidence of the PCSIR study was presented. They have, however, requested the school to put the complete study on school’s website so that it can be compared with others.
Some parents are unhappy with the shift because of the commute. For Mrs F the decision is inconvenient. She has two sons, one of whom is in the nursery while the other one in class III. “Since I drive my children to school, it will be impossible for me to pick and drop both of them from different campuses, twice a day,” she said, worried about the heavy traffic movement and accidents common in SITE.
In order to mitigate this problem, the school said that it would arrange a shuttle service through private contractors to provide transportation between the two campuses.
And while the parents may be fighting with the school authorities, some children are happy about the relocation. “It’s bigger and it even has a swimming pool,” exclaimed a student of class VI, who knows this because pictures have been put up all over the school. However, parent Mrs F felt that this was just the administration’s attempt to win over the children.
The parents may not have much of a choice if the school decides to go ahead with the plan. “The school does not realise that it is not easy to have your children admitted to a decent school these days,” said one parent, who felt that the move will cause “psychological and emotional stress” for some children who have spent their entire academic life at the old campus.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 9th, 2010.