KP govt to set up body to regulate private schools

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakh-tunkhwa government will establish a regulatory authority to streamline the affairs of the privately owned schools.
Talking to a delegation of the Consumers Protection Council and All Pakistan Parents Association, Minister for Elementary and Secondary Education Mohammad Atif Khan said the proposed body comprising of all stakeholders including parents, government officials and experts would solve problems in the education sector.
He said the regulatory authority would also work to raise the standard of education in public sector schools.
The minister recalled that the draft bill had been prepared by the previous government and would be made more effective before presenting it in the provincial assembly.
Deputy Commissioner Peshawar Riaz Khan Mehsud, Additional Deputy Commissioner Peshawar, Osama Ahmad Warraich, and officials of the Education Department were present on the occasion.
The recent increase in the monthly fee of private schools has prompted the provincial government and district administration to initiate consultative meetings of the parents and owners of private schools to resolve the issue. The owners of the private schools had boycotted a meeting convened in Nishtar Hall the other day.
Nobody could be forced to reduce the fee of their school, he maintained. He said the registration of schools would become compulsory after the establishment of the regulatory authority.
The minister agreed with the proposal of the categorisation of schools and collection of no hidden charges and adopting of proper procedure for increase in fee. The minister said the government recruited 13,000 teachers on merit and 14,000 more would be hired during the current financial year.
He said Rs800 million had been allocated for training the teachers and Rs8 billion had been sanctioned for providing facilities at schools. He said the money would be spent through the Parents Teachers Councils.
The minister said the monitoring of teachers had improved attendance in schools and 720 cases had been registered against the employees of the Education Department for not performing duty.