MPA wants actionagainst academy mafia

Opposition member Mian Aslam Iqbal on Monday demanded the Punjab government to take strict action against the ‘academy mafia’ minting billions of rupees from students in the name of MCAT and ECAT preparation.

The MPA also alleged that elements sitting in the Punjab government were providing complete patronage to these coaching centres, academies as despite decision taken by the government of action against such institutions, nothing had been done.

Speaking on a point of order, Mian Aslam Iqbal, the PTI MPA who hails from Lahore and has been elected from PP-148 said that every year, 65,000 students pertaining to nine Boards of Education of Punjab go for the preparation of medical and engineering entrance tests out of which only 3,400 get admission of government-run institutions and similar number of students in private medical or engineering colleges.

He said poor students, who even obtain excellent marks in the intermediate exams are unable to pay the heavy fee of the academies which charge billions of rupees from around 65,000 students in the name of Medical Colleges Admission Tests (MCAT) and Engineering College Engineering Test (ECAT). “When only 3,400 students out of 65,000 are able to get admission in medical or engineering colleges, what about the rest and the amount minted by the academy mafia from them in the name of M-CAT and E-CAT preparations” asked Aslam Iqbal. He said poor students, whose parents are not even able to pay their school or college fee how they could meet the expenditures and the burden of M-CAT or E-CAT fee.

Aslam Iqbal stated that if the government claimed that it had broken the network of Booti mafia (cheating in exams), it was praiseworthy but this issue was more important than anything else as it was directly related to the woes of poor people.

The PTI legislator revealed that already the decision was made by the government to put an end to M-CAT and E-CAT preparation system by academy but having received money from this mafia, an influential person of this House didn’t let anything happen against it, he alleged.

Aslam Iqbal said that building bridges or constructing metro buses are not important when it comes to the future of our students who are architect of national progress. He demanded setting up of committee, including additional chief secretary, education ministers, two members from Opposition and persons representing the academies and coaching centres for students.