PESHAWAR: The All Pakistan Private Schools Association, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chapter, has expressed serious concern over registration of cases against the teachers and students who had held protest demonstrations against the Peshawar Development Authority (PDA) for cracking down on private schools.

Speaking at a joint press conference at the Peshawar Press Club on Saturday, National Education Council Pakistan chairman Nazar Hussain, All Pakistan Private Schools Association president Dr Zakir Shah and Private Education Network senior vice president Anas Karim said that crackdown on private schools in Hayatabad Township was tantamount to deprive children of education.

They demanded early withdrawal of the cases registered against the children.

Nazar Hussain said on one hand, the PDA had allotted vast plots to several other educational institutions in residential areas, on the other it was opposing certain schools for no reason. He said the discrimination should be stopped as the ultimate sufferers would be students.

He said at least 25,000 students were enrolled in the schools located in Hayatabad Township and most of these were at safer places, but PDA’s action would expose them to terrorists. He said parents wanted their children to take admission in the nearest schools due to prevailing law and order situation, but PDA officials had turned blind eye towards their concerns.

Mr Hussain said considering the private schools as commercial was wrong under article 25 of the constitution as they were doing welfare work to increase literacy rate in the county.

Published in Dawn, March 20th, 2016