ISLAMABAD, Aug 18: Federal Education Minister Zobaida Jalal on Monday again directed the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to end the unrest among parents of students due to the authority’s drive against private schools operating in residential areas.

“The education minister has arranged a meeting between the Private Schools Association of Islamabad (PSAI) and CDA Chairman Chaudhry Abdul Rauf on Tuesday morning to discuss and resolve the issue,” PSAI President Prof Shahid Shamsi told Dawn on Monday.

The CDA campaign against private schools operating in the residential areas has triggered a chaotic situation since the schools are about to reopen after summer vacations.

The CDA has asked the parents not to send their children to at least 22 schools in various sectors as they have been declared illegal since they were established after 1999 in the residential areas. The CDA has also warned the schools’ managements of punitive action in case they started academic activity after the vacations. “It seems that there is a lack of cohesion between different government departments over the issue of private schools — a situation which has created concern amongst us,” said an affected parent.

At a recent meeting between the private schools association, the CDA and the education ministry, it was decided that the campaign would not affect those schools established before 1999.

“Now the CDA has changed its definition and is also targeting those schools which have expanded their infrastructure by hiring more accommodations or shifting their establishment to bigger buildings in a different locality to accommodate more students after fulfilling necessary requirements,” Mr Shamsi maintained.

He said the CDA had also displayed placards in front of different private schools, asking parents not to send their children to the schools.

Many schools have also extended summer vacations by another week, hoping that the situation might improve in the meantime.