JI to march against Sindh govt if schools closure extended beyond August 30

Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Karachi chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman on Wednesday warned the Sindh government against extending the closure of schools, saying that the party would hold a march for saving education if the government extended the closure beyond August 30.

He was addressing a moot of representatives of private schools and their associations along with representatives of students belonging to both public and private colleges and universities, and representatives of teachers’ bodies.

The JI city chief assured the moot that the party would take all possible measures against the PPP government's anti-education policy. If needed, he said, the JI would approach the judiciary against the PPP government over its measures against education.

Rehman said it was quite illogical to use schools to force parents and others to get themselves

vaccinated. He demanded of the government to abolish such types of conditions. He also lambasted the K-Electric for withdrawing the concession it had been granting to schools in the past.

He remarked that all the sectors other than education had been opened, and asked under which logic, schools were closed when markets were open. Regarding vaccination, the JI leader said 97 per cent of teachers and other school staffers in Karachi amd 93 per cent in other parts of the province had been vaccinated. In this scenario, the provincial government had decided to keep schools closed, which was evident of the PPP's interest in the education sector, he remarked.

Rehman added that eyebrows must be raised on the intentions of the government when it allowed political activities, businesses and every other activity, but restricted the education sector.

Pervez Haroon of Private Schools Action Committee, All Private Schools Development Organisation Chairman Sardar Malik, Hanif Siddiqui from the Alliance of Private Schools Sindh, Abdul Hameed Arif of Tanzeem-e-Asataza, Faiz Ahmed Faiz from NAFA and others expressed their views at the meeting.

The participants urged the JI leadership to play a leading role in this movement for education for the sake of the upcoming generations. They supported the idea of the ‘Save Education March’ and assured the JI leadership of their full cooperation.