KP govt drafts bill to regularise private schools

Proposed regulatory authority will consist of representatives from both private and public sector schools and parents

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s minister for elementary and secondary education, Mohammad Atif Khan, said on Tuesday that a draft bill has been prepared for the establishment of a regulatory authority to regularise private schools in the province.

Talking to a delegation which comprised of members from the Consumers Protection Council (CPC), All Pakistan Parents Association (APPA) Peshawar and a large number of parents of private school students, the provincial minister assured the participants that his government is deeply committed to the cause.

The proposed regulatory authority, he said, will consist of representatives from both private and public sector schools and parents.

“The authority will not only define policy guidelines for private schools, but will also implement it in letter and spirit.”

The minister, however, said that in an open market economy, school’s cannot be forced to cut down their fee structure.

Peshawar Deputy Commissioner (DC) Riaz Khan Mehsud, Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Osama Ahmad Warraich and officials of the education department were also present on the occasion.

He agreed with the proposal to categorise schools and to make sure that no hidden charges are collected. The proposal suggested a proper procedure for increase in school fee.

Talking about reforms initiated by the provincial government in the education sector, the provincial minister said that the government has its full focus on schools, and the problem would be resolved only after improvement is brought into public sector schools.

He added that that the registration of private schools will become mandatory after establishment of the proposed regulatory authority.

Atif Khan urged the parents to seek prior information about their concerned schools’ performance and the qualification of teachers before enrolling their children.

He was of the opinion that after improving the quality of education in public sector schools, “none of the parents would like to send their children to private schools.”

“The provincial government has recruited 13,000 teachers on pure merit and four thousand more will be recruited during the current financial year,” he said.

Similarly, a fund of Rs800 million has been allocated for the training of teachers and another hefty amount of Rs8 billion has been sanctioned for the provision of missing facilities, which will be spent through Parents Teachers Committees (PTCs), announced the provincial minister.

Atif Khan went on to say that monitoring of teachers has improved their attendance in schools and 720 cases have been registered against the employees of the education department.