PESHAWAR, Dec 23: Speakers at a seminar on Saturday called for optimal utilization of school buildings through public-private collaboration to promote education.

The seminar, organized by the NWFP education department, was attended by the provincial education minister and the secretary, Nazims, DCOs, EDOs (education) and planners and executives of the education department.

Briefing the participants of the seminar about the aims and objectives of a scheme, which focuses on the optimum utilization of the school buildings in the province, Education Secretary Arbab Mohammad Shahzad and project director Sarwat Jehan said the scheme would bring back the out-of-school children to further schooling and would make education facilities available to the people.

They observed that the scheme would make the role of the private sector more effective, while the educated youths would have employment opportunities.

Education Minister Syed Imtiaz Hussain Gilani was of the view that instead of investment in bricks and metals i.e. civil works, the existing facilities be should consolidated. “By opening up the existing school buildings, theoretically, we are going to double these facilities.”   

The minister pointed out that such a programme was successfully running in thousands of schools of Punjab, and hoped that it would be a success in the NWFP, too.

Under the scheme, the private entrepreneurs would have ready-made and cheap buildings and would charge the students less.

He stated that the government had already decided that 10 per cent of the income of the scheme would remain with the institutes concerned, while in future the operation of the scheme would be handed over to district governments.

The audience was informed that preference would be given to opening of classes for the students of 6th to 8th classes in primary school buildings, 9th and 10th in middle schools and 11th and 12th in high schools, while priority would be given to the rural areas, overcrowded schools, middle classes and girls education.

Under the schemes, the buildings of the government schools will be rented out to the private parties for imparting education.