ISLAMABAD: The Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) on Friday announced that 32 schools would reopen on September 1 after the police vacate them.

Thousands of security personnel had been called in from other cities mainly from Azad Kashmir to quell any violent demonstration by the activists of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) who have been staging sit-ins for the last three weeks.

They had been accommodated in some 60 government schools, but now the capital administration has somehow gotten 32 educational institutions vacated.

In a press release, CADD said that out of the 60 federal government and model schools, 32 had been vacated by the police and they would reopen on September 1 after extended summer vacation.

CADD also plans to shift students of those schools which are still under police occupation to institutions which are going to reopen next week. However, it did not elaborate the plan.

“It is just a proposal as so far we have not finalised a strategy on how to accommodate thousands of students in the schools and colleges reopening next week,” said an official in CADD.

The official explained that the Capital Administration and Development Division had told the interior ministry that parents and teachers were concerned about the loss students were suffering during the last 20 days.

28 educational institutions are still occupied by police from AJK, Punjab

The schools were to open on August 11 after the summer vacations but remained shut after PTI and PAT marched on Islamabad and thousands of Punjab and AJK police had to be deployed for the security of the Red Zone.

According to the official, the district management had requested the Ministry of Interior to provide accommodation to the police personnel. CADD was therefore directed to accomodate policemen in the schools.

Teachers and heads of departments in these federal government and model schools/colleges had already gone into a huddle on how to cover the course the students had missed over the last three weeks.

The Punjab and AJK police personnel had been accommodated in these educational facilities where they ate and slept in 12-hour shifts.

According to Deputy Commissioner Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), Mujahid Sherdil, they had requisitioned for 60 schools but occupied only 28. The rest were on standby.

“We have now left 32 schools and are holding only 28,” said Mujahid Sherdil.

The senior official said that the government was examining the possibility of getting the rest vacated.

Published in Dawn, August 30th, 2014