Punjab directed to decide on opening of private schools

LAHORE: Lahore High Court Chief Justice Muhammad Qasim Khan on Thursday directed the provincial government to decide whether to allow private schools to open their offices during the Coronavirus lockdown.

The chief justice was hearing a petition by the private schools seeking permission to open their offices so that they could pay salaries to teachers and staff. They said the salaries of last month had not been paid to the staff so far due to the lockdown.

At the outset of the hearing, a government law officer stated before the court that the petition was not maintainable. However, the chief justice rejected the argument and observed that the schools would be unable to pay salaries to their staff if not allowed to open offices.

CJ Khan directed the law officer to ensure the authority concerned resolved the dispute within a day. He summoned the secretaries for home and education on Friday (today) if the matter was not resolved by the government.