LAHORE:The Serving School Association of Pakistan (SSAP) on Thursday demanded a relief package in the wake of the closure after the announcement of the schools reopening on Sept 15.

SSAP President Mian Razaur Rehman praised the government decision to open schools in September and said they were ready to cooperate with the government.

He said they would ensure implementation of the coronavirus pandemic related SOPs as the closure of schools was creating financial problems for the owners.

He also demanded a special relief package for the private schools.He said the State Bank should give soft loans to them because most of the schools were working in rented buildings.He said the government had reduced the fee but most of the parents were not even paying those fee.

Mr Rehman said that serving schools was working for promotion of education in the country and it had 60 percent share in most of the schools taking fees up to Rs4,000 per month.

He said if withholding tax and commercial fee were not waved off, thousands of schools would be closed down.

Published in Dawn, July 10th, 2020