Govt given two-day ultimatum to review decision

Karachi  

The All Sindh Private Schools Association on Monday issued a two-day deadline for the provincial government to take back its decision to cancel registrations of 46 schools for failing to follow orders regarding the commencement of summer vacations, warning that it would start staging protests and also move the courts if the action was not reviewed.  

Addressing a press conference at the Karachi Press Club, the association's chairman, Haider Ali, said that
numerous schools of the city were unable to enforce the government's orders but
only 46 institutions had been targeted for disciplinary action.

He maintained that the government had issued the vacation period notice at the last moment, which made its implementation particularly troublesome, and urged the authorities concerned to extend the school term till Wednesday. 

Yesterday's presser was in reaction to Saturday's announcement by the Directorate of Private Institutions, Sindh (DPIS) in which the authority suspended the registration of 46 private schools for violating the education and literacy department’s orders to announce early summer vacations.

Education Secretary Dr Fazullah Pechuho had directed schools to observe summer holidays from May 19 to July 24. DPIS director general Dr Mansoob Hussain Siddiqui had told The News that no one would be allowed to challenge the writ of the government. “The education minister had announced the early summer vacations after consulting the education secretary and the decision was made keeping the hot weather in mind,” he added.

Siddiqui had said all 23 districts of Sindh, including Karachi, were experiencing hot and humid weather on a regular basis and with prolonged power failures and shortage of water, it was almost impossible for children, teachers and their families to bear the scorching heat wave. 

“The majority of private schools associations were mentally prepared and expecting the decision as it was discussed by the authorities on several occasions and it was widely assumed that an early summer break would be announced.”

The official said the Aga Khan Education Board System was reluctant to follow orders.

“They [the AKEB officials] were claiming that their new session had just begun and they could not give an early summer break as students needed more time to understand their courses. However, they too have to follow the orders like others, otherwise they will receive similar letters.”

He said that the Cambridge schooling systems and missionary schools had announced summer vacations as per the government’s directives. He criticised the schools and the private schools association which were saying that they needed more time to announce summer vacations as they had to assign homework to students.  “Why can’t these schools give homework to their students in a single day?”