Haunted by Peshawar bloodbath, the PPP-ruled Sindh government has suspended the registration of almost a dozen private schools for risking the lives of schoolchildren in the prevailing uncertain law and order situation just, what education officials claim, to collect their monthly fees.
The move appears to have put the provincial authorities and representatives of the private schools in an unprecedented argument that whether frequent closures of educational institutions offer a sustainable remedy to the ever intensifying security concerns in the terrorism-hit country.
All Private Schools Management Association Sindh (APSMAS) Central Chairman Syed Khalid Shah said education was already braving the “biggest loss” in the culturally-diverse and traditions-driven Pakistan where educational institutions remain open, on average, only for 170 days in a 365-day year.
“We are off for two months in summer, about 15 days in winter and the rest of vacations are named after different traditions,” the APSMAS said. Shah says education in Pakistan had never been taken seriously and that’s why teachers are employed as “spared people” for conducting works like census or elections.
“They keep the educational institutions shut for this and that reasons,” he lamented. And here is another head for the educational institutions to stay shut: security concern!”
On Saturday, Registrar Sindh Private Schools Rafia Mallah confirmed to Pakistan Today that the director general private schools had suspended the registration of at least 8-10 schools for opening schools on January 1 in violation of the competent authority’s decision to extend winter vacations up to January 12.
Without divulging names, the registrar said the defiant ones mostly included The Citizens Foundation (TCF) schools from the city neighbourhoods like Lyari, Baldia, Gulsha-i-Iqbal and North Nazimabad.
TCF, a self-sustaining chain of welfare schools imparting quality education to underprivileged children across Pakistan, had opened its schools on Jan 1st.
The APSMAS, however, says the defiance came out of compulsion. First to 10th of a month happens to be the dates for fee collection that enables the school management to pay salaries to their staff, it explained.
“All the middle class schools collect fee during 1st to 10th of a month. If they don’t, their would be no salary payments,” Shah told Pakistan Today.
Secondly, he said, January 12th was a deadline set by the Board for the submission of metric examination forms. “The students would not be able to fill and submit their form on time,” he apprehended.
Rafia, however, tends to rubbish these claims saying while Peshawar carnage had upset the country’s entire civilian and military leadership with the prime minister and chief of army staff so very concerned about the security of the schoolchildren, some of the private schools were risking the lives of children just to collect their fees.
“Security has turned out as a national issue requiring all of us to be extra careful,” the registrar opined.
That was why, the official said, all the defiant schools had been served on notices to show cause as to what made them open their institutions under such circumstances.
“It is tantamount to challenging writ of the government,” Rafia exclaimed and asked “Who would be responsible if anything unfortunate happens to schoolchildren?”
What magic on earth would guarantee there would be no security threat post January 12” counter-questions Shah.
“Ok, punish these eight schools. But what after these 10 days pass,” asked the APSMAS chief. “They have no answer to this question,” he claimed.
Rafia, anyway, comes up with one saying the government had reformed its security measures that were “more than enough” to safeguard schools.
“The government has a security plan to implement for which it needs some space,” she said, adding: “All the schools had been put on high alert with some having been given a proper security plan in times of emergency.”
The 10-day extension in winter vacations, the official said, was a must for the implementation of government’s security plan in letter and spirit. To a question on increased vacations and resultant loss of education, Rafia replied that the schools often loved to put up this “so-called reason” but never care for the same themselves. “Why don’t they open the schools on Saturdays that come four times in a month,” she asked.
Nations across the globe observe holidays to commemorate their traditional entities or days and Pakistan was no exception, she said. The education system in Pakistan, the registrar said, was strong enough to produce students who were competing on Oxford and Harvard level.
The schools, APSMAS chairman Shah said, had decided to keep their offices open from Jan 5 to collect fees. “Only parents would come and pay the fee,” he said.
Further, he said, his Association had also written a request to the Board to extend submission date for metric examination to help students get registered on time. Asked about the final fate of the suspended schools, Shah viewed that the former would ultimately get reinstated after writing “excuse letters” to the directorate.
There are 11,000 private schools in Sindh of which 10,000 are registered with the provincial education department. The number of schools enlisted with APSMAS in Karachi stand at 3,300.