RAWALPINDI: As Rawalpindi and Chaklala cantonment boards are all set to move educational institutions out of residential areas on the orders of the Supreme Court (SC) by Dec 30, representatives of private educational institutions will stage a protest on Thursday (today) against the decision.

On the other hand, the District Education Authority has warned private schools owners against dragging students into the protest.

In a letter to private schools and colleges in the cantonment areas, the authority said owners of private schools were bringing innocent students to their protest rallies, which was unethical and illegal.

“Strict action will be taken against the school management under section 12-A of the Punjab Private Educational Institution (Promotion and Regulation Ordinance 1984) if they are found involving students in the protest,” the letter said.

School owners warned not to bring students to agitation

Talking to Dawn, RCB spokesman Qaiser Mehmood said the cantonment board was implementing the court orders and would not allow anyone to violate the court’s directives.

He said private schools in the jurisdiction of cantonment’s residential areas had to be moved otherwise strict action would be taken as per the apex court’s orders, adding that all government organisations had to follow the directives.

Meanwhile, All Pakistan Private Schools and Colleges Association will stage protests at two places - one at Chur Chowk and the other in Chaklala Scheme-III. It has asked teachers, students and their parents to participate in the rallies.

The association’s Punjab chapter president, Ilyas Kiani, told Dawn that they had constituted administrative committees which would coordinate with teachers and parents for holding protests.

He said they would protest at Sir Syed Chowk and Chaklala Scheme III within the limits of Chaklala Cantonment Board and the road leading toward Rahmatabad would be closed.

He said the second protest demonstration would be held at Chur Chowk on Peshawar Road within the limits of Rawalpindi Cantonment Board.

He said the cantonment authorities were quick to issue eviction notices ‘under the guise of the Supreme Court’s decision’, which has caused anxiety among school owners, teachers and parents.

Mr Kiani urged Prime Minister Imran Khan and the chief justice of Pakistan to intervene as the future of four million students and 400,000 teachers and staff in 42 educational institutions in the cantonment boards hanged in balance.

Joint Action Committee of Private Educational Institutions Convener Ibrar Ahmed Khan told Dawn that apart from protest rallies, schools and colleges in the cantonment boards had also filed a plea with the Supreme Court and hoped that they would get a stay order.

He claimed that the private schools in cantonment boards were providing better education facilities to people at reasonable fees, adding that if private institutions were moved outside the residential areas, parents would suffer as they would have to arrange transport for their children, which would put extra burden on their budget.

He said teachers and school staff would also face problems if schools were shifted outside the residential areas, adding that private schools not only provided education but also employment to female teachers and staff near their homes.

Published in Dawn, December 16th, 2021