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Govt fails to set up body for private school
By Khalid Khattak
LAHORE
THE Punjab government has failed to
establish a regulatory authority for private sector educational
institutions exposing its tall claims of overseeing the fees
structure, registration, quality assurance and other aspects of
private sector schools.
In December 2008, Chief Minister
Shahbaz Sharif had formed a committee to review the existing Punjab
Private Educational Institutions (Promotion and Regulation)
Ordinance 1984 and to propose suitable amendments to the ordinance
with the view to establishing a standard for infrastructure,
teaching staff, syllabi, curricula and examination system of the
private sector schools. The committee was supposed to propose
structure, constitution and legal framework for an autonomous
regulatory institution for private schools. It was also tasked with
establishing a fee structure for private schools linked to standard
of service and facilities offered by these institutions.
It is important to mention here that
the PML-Q government had also vowed to form a regulatory body for
private schools and a special committee of the Punjab Assembly was
also formed in this regard. However, it could not ensure
establishment of the controlling body.
Resentment among the masses towards
unbridled functioning of private schools is increasing with every
passing day. A number of factors are held responsible for the
resentment, including unrealistic registration at the time of
admission, heavy monthly fees, collection of various funds and
compulsory purchase of stationery and uniform from the prescribed
stores.
Academic circles say that the affairs
of private schools can be streamlined to a great extent provided the
officials concerned ensure implementation of the existing ordinance
in its true spirit.
Talking to The News, Task Force on
Elementary Education Chairman Raja Muhammad Anwar, who is also
convener of the committee for private schools, said the imposition
of the Governor’s Rule in the province had greatly affected working
of the committee. He said the recommendations of the committee for
streamlining the affairs of private schools would soon be sent to
the chief minister.
However, when contacted, Punjab
School Education Department Secretary Nadeem Ashraf, who is also one
of the members of the committee, said the recommendations were yet
to be finalised. He said it had been decided unanimously that there
was need of an independent regulatory authority for private schools.
He said the department had recently introduced a uniform
registration policy for private schools according to which all
private schools would be registered for a period of five years.
The faculty of the University of
Education, Lahore, donated one-day salary for internally displaced
persons last week.According to a press statement, a cheque of
Rs95,000 was deposited in the Governor Punjab’s relief fund. The
vice-chancellor of the university has also constituted a committee
to make suggestions about the campaign for collection of donations.
The committee decided that all the principals of the university
campuses would appoint one of the senior members as focal person who
would coordinate with the committee.
It was also decided that a relief
centre would be established in each campus and all the collections
would be made at the centres. Moreover, a campaign might be launched
at all campuses by display of posters and lectures.
The News :Monday, May 25, 2009
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