Govt urged to reopen private schools in University Town

PESHAWAR: Administrators of private educational institutions have warned the government to launch a protest movement if the all sealed educational institutions in University Town were not reopened within a week.

Speaking at a joint news conference at Peshawar Press Club on Thursday, the chairman Private Schools Association (PSA) Nazar Hussain, chairman NEC Mohammad Iqbal, president PSA Ahmad Ali Darwaish, and chairperson Hayatabad Schools Association Seema Jamil said that the provincial government had pushed the future of around 25,000 students towards destruction by sealing hundreds of educational institutions in the University Town.

Nazar Hussain said that the provincial government had no alternate arrangements for educating 25,000 students, nor has it any resources for reopening educational institutions for such a large number of students. He said the government itself had allowed registration and functioning of these schools after collecting fees from them, he said.

He said it was right that running schools in residential areas was illegal but educating children in such an area was also necessary. He said it was also unfortunate that the government has no system to provide education to all children and the private schools were helping the government to educate all children, particularly the minors.

Seema Jamil and others members appealed to higher judiciary to review the decision of sealing educational institutions, directing the authorities to reopen these schools and allow them to educate children.

They said implementing local government law in a particular area was illegal, adding that there was a difference between business activities and education. They said they would appeal to Peshawar High Court against the decision of the government to get justice and expressed the hope they would get relief from the court of law.