CHAKWAL: The Chakwal district administration has threatened owners of unregistered private schools with legal action if they do not abide by the Punjab government’s rules and regulations.

During the first meeting of the newly established District Private Schools Registration Authority (DPSRA) on Wednesday, the authority chairperson Mehmood Javed Bhatti asked owners of unregistered private schools to run their institutions according to regulations. Mr Bhatti, who is also the district coordination officer, was chairing the meeting, which was attended by Executive District Officer Education Dr Ghulam Murtaza Anjam, private schools representative Syed Munir Haider Shah and other officials.

“Private schools are playing a vital role in spreading knowledge, and we are not against them, but unregistered private schools will not be allowed to play with the careers of children,” Mr Bhatti said.

According to Dr Anjam, there are 819 registered private schools in the district. However, the district administration does not have the exact figure of unregistered private schools. Dr Anjam told Dawn that there are 300 to 400 unregistered private schools operating in the district.

According to a new policy, a private school must be registered with the education department. In order to be registered a school has to fulfil certain criteria, such as a proper building and land, staff, IT and science laboratories, a library and other equipment. There are currently hundreds of schools in Chakwal district that are operating in violation of such regulations.

The policy also states that a private school should not only have separate buildings for segregated sections, but that they must also be registered separately. However, many private buildings that offer classes for both girls and boys are operating within one building.

“Only a primary school can have a coeducation system, while an elementary and secondary/higher secondary school should have separate buildings for boys and girls and it must be registered separately,” Dr Anjam said.

One official said that owners of unregistered schools are exploiting institution loopholes to operate.

“They file an application for registration with the education department, and continue to operate until the application is decided. According to the law no action can be taken against an unregistered school if its application for registration is undecided, and due to the red tape, decision on any application takes a long time,” the official said.

A private school remains registered for a five year period, after which registration must be renewed. “No action will be taken against registered schools whether or not they fulfil the new policy requirements. But their registration will be renewed according to the requirements of the new policy,” Dr Anjam said.

“There are 21 registration applications before us, and only three of the schools fulfil the requirements,” Mr Bhatti told Dawn. He said that the concerned officials have been directed to initiate action against unregistered schools.

Private Schools Association (PSA) general secretary Mr Mushtaq Haider expressed surprise when told of the DPSRA meeting.

“I do not know about the meeting and I am also unaware of the establishment of DPSRA,” he said. He added that his organisation had passed five names on to the district administration so they could pick a PSA representative. Mr Haider said Mr Shah’s name was not on the list.

“We have already challenged the ordinance under which the new policy on private schools has been crafted before the Lahore High Court (LHC). We have serious reservations about the new policy, as it is not feasible,” Mr Haider said. He said that most schools could not fulfil the requirements introduced by the new policy.

Published in Dawn, December 27th, 2015