August 22, 2006	Tuesday	Rajab 26, 1427

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LAHORE, Aug 21: The All Pakistan Private Schools Owners Association (APPSOA) has raised objections against the proposed Punjab Private Education Institutions (Promotion and Regulation 2006) bill.

It is particularly vociferous against a proposed clause of registration of an FIR against owners defaulting in registration of their schools.

The parliamentary committee on private schools headed by Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan has reportedly proposed that whosoever will continue to run an institution without registration or after refusal or cancellation of registration shall be punished with fine which may extend to Rs500 per day during which the contravention continues.

The committee also proposed that in case of contravention for a period of three months, the institution shall be liable to closure by the registering authority. A new clause also says, “where the contravention of the order of closure of institutions continues beyond 30 days passed by the registering authority, the registering authority may get an FIR registered against the defaulter. The defaulter will be liable to fine up to Rs500,000 or imprisonment of six months or both”.

It may also be mentioned that parliamentary committee chairman Mr Khan had also announced at a news conference earlier this month that the proposed bill would be tabled in the Punjab Assembly during its next session.

In a recent committee meeting, APPSOA president Mirza Kashif Ali strongly criticised the proposal of registering FIR, imposing heavy fines and handing down punishments and said that how the Punjab government would be able to fulfill its commitment of `Para Likha Punjab’by resorting to such action.

He said the process of getting a school registered was quite lengthy and in most cases the needful was being done after greasing the palms of officials concerned. He claimed that each school owner was supposed to pay up to Rs15,000 to get a registration certificate.

Of 85,895 private schools in Punjab, Mr Ali said, only 23,040 schools were registered and 1,607 recognised, while 60,284 schools were unregistered. He said that these unregistered schools were also shouldering the Punjab government’s liability of imparting education to children and making them literate.

Saying that the bill had also proposed that no new school would be allowed to open without getting registration, he said this clause would be a major blow to the promotion of education in the province.

He said the APPSOA would not accept any law that would aim at earning revenue instead of encouraging the private sector to promote education.

The APPSOA president said the proposed bill had also suggested that the private educational institutions should be catergorised as A, B and C. He said the categorisation of private schools would further promote class system in the province. Stating that the school owners were required to pay up to Rs15,000 for a registration certificate, he said the introduction of a system of categorisation of schools would further increase the avenues of corruption for the officials concerned. He said the school owners would be required to get better category to promote their schools by paying hefty amounts to the corrupt.

Mr Ali also criticised an amendment to the existing ordinance that the registration committee members be increased from five to 14, while another proposal said that the number of members be increased from five to seven and having MPAs on the body. He said the committee having maximum members would create problems for school managements, while MPAs would get a license to interfere in schools.

Referring to another clause, the APPSOA president said the proposed bill had required that schools should have science and computer lab before getting registration. He claimed that 70 per cent government schools also not fulfilled this requirement, while some 4,000 public schools had no proper building infrastructure. In this situation, he said, the proposed clause would be detrimental in promoting the cause of education in the province.

He stressed that the government should refrain from enacting a law that would hit the growth of the private schools which were imparting education to more students as compared to those in public sector schools. He claimed the government’s 62,861 schools had enrolment of 8.803 million, while 85,895 private schools were imparting education to 9.179 million students all over the province.

Mr Ali demanded that the parliamentary committee on private schools should give representation to private schools’ representatives and give weight to their recommendations. He also suggested that the government should consider proper implementation of the Punjab Private Education Institutions (Promotion and Regulation) Ordinance 1984 instead of going for new legislation.

He also called for the abolition of 23 different taxes to ensure reduction in private schools’ fees. He also suggested that private educational institutions should be declared as public welfare organisations instead of commercial institutions. He said utility bills should also be issued on the basis of domestic rates rather than commercial rates.

Mr Ali also suggested that the government should establish a separate directorate for the private schools.