KARACHI: The Directo­rate of Inspection, Registra­tion of Private Institutions, Sindh School Education and Literacy Department, has suspended the registration of a private school for having installed hidden cameras in its female and male washrooms.

A day prior to the directorate’s decision, Rehana Feroz, a teacher of the private school in Scheme 33, Safoora Goth, complained that there were hidden CCTV cameras installed behind a switchboard with holes in the area of the wash basins situated near the toilets of both girls and boys’ washrooms to spy upon their movements.

Acting on the complaint, the director general of the private schools ordered an inquiry that found the school in fact guilty of the crime.

He issued the school a show-cause notice on Nov 3 directing the principal and administration to appear before him to explain their positions, failing which ex-parte decision would be initiated against them.

However, no one appeared before the director general on Thursday.

A notification issued on Nov 4 said that the school’s registration was suspended under Section-8 (1) (Cance­lla­tion or suspension of certificate of registration) of the Sindh Private Educatio­nal Institutions (Regulation & Control) Ordinance 2001 (Amended) Act, 2003, with immediate effect.

Education Minister Syed Sardar Shah told Dawn that strict action would be taken against those responsible for installing cameras. He said the mater needed a thorough probe by the FIA cybercrime experts to ascertain whether any data was in possession of unscrupulous elements.

Published in Dawn, November 6th, 2021