LAHORE: The All-Pakistan Private Schools Federation has decided not to open schools from Monday (Feb 1) in protest against the government’s ‘harassment’.

The public and private schools were scheduled to reopen on Monday after the Punjab government had announced their closure from Jan 26 to 31 because of what it said ‘extreme cold weather’.

Editorial: Schools’ closure

However, the All-Pakistan Private Schools Federation on Saturday decided in a meeting that they would not reopen schools until the Shahbaz Sharif administration redressed their grievances.

In addition to the core member schools of the association in Punjab, it said the decision would also be implemented by all Punjab-based schools of Lahore Grammar School, Beaconhouse Group (including BN and TNS-B), City School Network, LACAS, Salamat School System and Kids Kampus, Learning Alliance and Lahore Preschool, Resource Academia, LGS Landmark Schools, Allied Schools, Smart Schools and the Educators.

The association said the decision was taken because of the Punjab government’s actions like shifting of the entire onus of security on schools.

“The public and private schools were closed by the Punjab government on the midnight of Jan 25 on the pretext of cold weather.

An environment of confusion, uncertainty and fear has been created in Punjab. There is all-round speculation as to whether schools were genuinely closed due to adverse weather or there was a security threat that prompted closure.”

It further said: “Private schools and their owners are being persistently harassed and intimidated by various government departments and law enforcement agencies. Individuals from various government departments, many with no security background, have been threatening to seal schools and issue FIRs against school heads and owners. Their demands vary from case to case and are not based on any consistent written guidelines.”

The association said the private schools were already in compliance with the written security guidelines that were issued in Dec 2014.

“Additional requirements, mostly verbal, are now being imposed on an ad hoc and unlawful manner. As per the Constitution of Pakistan, the security of all citizens is the responsibility of the state.

Private schools are responsible for the provision of education. They cannot be expected to, nor do they have the resources to provide the level of security that is being demanded by the government. The state is responsible for the safety and security of its citizens and of our children. It cannot pass on the entire responsibility for security to educational institutions. Private schools will therefore not re-open until the government fulfills its duty and assumes responsibility for the safety and security of our children and schools,” the private schools body said.

Published in Dawn, January 31st, 2016