PEF school owners, teachers protest non-payment

LAHORE:A large number of teachers and owners of Punjab Education Foundation (PEF) partner schools continuing their protest against non-payment by the Foundation blocked the road outside the Governor's House here Friday. Carrying banners and placards. they chanted slogans and flayed the government’s education policy. During the demonstration, one of the protesters also fainted. After the Governor's House, they marched towards the Club Chowk and later dispersed from there giving July 27 deadline to the government.

Talking to The News, All Pakistan Private Schools Association (APPSA) president Mian Shabbir Ahmed Hashmi said the PEF partners were not seeking a favour from the government. He said the PEF was not releasing full payment against 2.7 million verified students to PEF partner schools and had only released half of the amount since March 2020.

“The PEF partner schools are unable to pay salaries to staff, including teachers. rents and utility bills etc,” he said, and added no PEF partner school was demanding payment against unverified students. He said only 279,000 students data was to be verified and the PEF partner schools did not press the government for release of payment against these students.

Earlier, the demonstrators blocked the road for quite sometime which caused a traffic mess on The Mall and many adjacent roads.