ISLAMABAD, Feb 3: Senate Standing Committee on Education, Science and Technology has called for maintaining proper check on the capital’s private educational institutions in terms of fee structure, content of the curricula and skill and education levels of the teachers.

The committee, which met here on Saturday under the chairmanship of Razina Alam Khan, observed that such a check was imperative to secure the future of coming generations.

It termed the promulgation of “The Islamabad Capital Territory Private Educational Institutions (Regulation and Promotion) Ordinance 2006” as a positive step and appreciated the performance of the regulatory body mandated to monitor and regulate the 643 private schools.

The Senate body was given a presentation on the rules formulated for registration of private educational institutions in Islamabad and the methodology adopted by the Academy of Educational Planning and Management in conducting a survey for the National Education Census Report 2005.

Speaking on the occasion, Senator Razina Alam Khan said the basic purpose of promulgation of the ordinance was to ensure quality education and every child’s access to it.

She said illiterate nations could not make any progress in the contemporary world. “That is why high priority is being accorded to expanding and enhancing the level of literacy and education in the country.” The senator suggested that the amount of Rs25,000 proposed by the regulatory body as the security deposit should be reasonably reduced for the less privileged schools.

She said the committee recognised the useful role being played by the Private Educational Institutions, but also desired that the children of an average Pakistani should have access to these schools. These institutions they should impart quality education at reasonable fee.

The Senate committee hoped that with the promulgation of the ordinance and setting up of the regulatory body, malpractice in the field of education would gradually be eliminated, standard would improve and accessibility increased.