LAHORE, Jan 21: A private schools chain has formally taken over all educational institutes of the Pakistan Railways under a 33-year-lease agreement signed about eight months ago.

Under the agreement, the new management, the Beaconhouse, is authorized to apply its own laws and take any step “for the betterment of the institutes and their staff and students.”

The new management will enjoy the hire and fire authority. However, for terminating a staff member it will have to send a case to a committee set up for the purpose.