Siraj wants educational institutions, seminaries reopened

CHARSADDA: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief Senator Sirajul Haq has said that like other departments, the government should also reopen all the private educational institutions and seminaries from August 15 under the standard operating procedures (SOPs).

Talking to the owners and managements of the private educational institutions after a meeting of Nafiyah Pakistan here, he said that the government must announce a relief package for the private educational institutions as they had suffered huge losses due to the Covid-19 pandemic in the country.

Senator Sirajul Haq also urged the rulers to take input of experts and owners of private educational institutions in policy-making so that a comprehensive strategy could be devised to enhance quality education in the country.

The government, he said, should pay the utility bills, buildings’ rents, students’ fees and salaries of teachers and other staff members of private educational institutions so they could be supported in the prevailing critical situation.

“Under Article 25-A of the Constitution, it is the responsibility of the state to provide quality education to each and every child in the country,” the senator said, adding that presently over 60 percent students were studying at the private schools, colleges and universities. He said that if there were no private educational institutions, the government would not have accommodated and provided quality education to such a large number of children as it lacked infrastructure and trained teachers. Director Nafiyah Pakistan Hidayat Khan, Charsadda district chairman and Private Education Network (PEN) provincial vice-president Javed Khan and others also spoke on the occasion.