RAWALPINDI: Private schools of Rawalpindi district rejected the government’s directive for schools to acquire arms licences to enhance school security.

The owners of private schools argued that Standing Operating Procedure (SOP) issued by the district government, last week, regarding issuance of arms licences for schools is too complicated and so they will not follow it.

“The complicated SOP, which forces us to run from pillar to post to acquire arms licences, is unacceptable. We will not apply for arms licences under this SOP,” said Private School Associations President Abrar Ahmed.

Mr Ahmed said that under the SOP, school owners are required to visit several offices including Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA), Tehsil Municipal Administration, assistant commissioners and Special Branch to complete documentation for applying for arms licences.

“Everyone knows how these institutions function. By making us go through such a complicated process, the government itself forced us not to comply with its order,” he said.

Mr Ahmed said that under the SOP all private schools that fall in the security sensitivity categories A and A plus are required to have armed security guards.

“All such schools are already registered with Executive District Office (EDO) Education and it would have been better if the EDO was given the task of issuing verification certificates to private schools for applying for arms licences,” he said.

There are 450 educational institutions in Rawalpindi which were placed in A and A plus categories because of security sensitivity. Around 300 of these institutions are private schools.

Despite repeated attempts, District Coordination Officer (DCO) Rawalpindi Sajid Zafar Dal could not be reached for his comments.

Published in Dawn February 12th , 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play