Public schools in danger of losing playgrounds to private academic institutions

Senator Muhammad Talha Mahmood suggests additional land of government schools could be given to private schools on lease

Islamabad

The federal government educational institutions are in danger of losing their playgrounds to the private institutions as Senate Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat Chairman Senator Muhammad Talha Mahmood on Thursday suggested that the additional land of these government schools could be given to private schools on lease.

He made this observation during a meeting of the standing committee during a discussion on the issue of non-conforming use of residential buildings in the federal capital.

However, the senator gave another proposal for allotment of plots to private schools in Sector H-8 and other sectors meant for private and government organisations.

He directed the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to come up with a report regarding how many plots in Islamabad were allotted to educational institutions and which plots were being misused.

Senator Talha Mehmood also directed the senior bureaucrats present in the meeting to resolve the issue of over 2,000 daily wage teachers which are imparting education to around 50,000 students. “Teachers should get their due status,” he said.

During the meeting, the representatives of daily wage teachers said during the year 2011, the then government had regularised a large number employees from BPS 1 to 19 and the government had issued letters for their medical tests but the present government stopped the whole process.

They said that in the light of directives of the Supreme Court, a committee headed by Haseeb Athar was constituted to resolve their problems but so far no action had been taken.

It may be pointed out here that if additional land of government schools is allotted to private institutions then the move would bring about two totally different systems of education meant for the elite class and middle and lower middle class could come face to face resulting in clash of two segments of society.

There is not even a single federal government school in Islamabad which is being used for any other purpose.

The suggestion, if implemented, would also result in doing away with playing facilities for the students of federal government schools.

A retired senior police officer, requesting not to be named, said that gathering a large number of students within the same premises would create security problems. “There are already over 500 students in each school and addition of more students will mean inviting security problems,” he said.

Sources said that some private educational institutions have been trying to get the right to use playgrounds of government schools by raising their own buildings.  The move, if implemented, would invite anger and wrath of parents, students and residents of the federal capital.

A senior educationist pointed out that there is always room for expansion in buildings of the government institutions to meet requirements of the poor, lower middle and middle class. He said that the role of teachers and parents in building the personality of a student is of immense importance, adding that, therefore, the prime responsibility of teachers is to utilise their all professional skills and expertise while teaching students.