A pvt school kept forcefully operational despite COVID-19 risk, ban: Parents complain

ISLAMABAD, Jun 29 (APP):The parents of a private school, located in Sector H-13 of the federal capital, have complained against its covert operation continued for the last three months, forcing students to attend their regular classes.

Contrary to the district administration’s decision to keep educational institutions closed, the students are compelled to ensure attendance or face the expulsion from the school, said parents.

Parents feared that opening of the school, having over 300 students in a confined environment was threatening to the students and their families. Over hundred students were regularly attending classes and the rest have preferred to remain safe at home, a father of 7th grade kid told APP, requesting anonymity.

He said “my three children are enrolled with this facility, offering education to lower middle class section, and I cannot afford readmission to another school as heavy security fee is demanded. But I fear my kids are exposed to the pandemic.”

The parents also complained for non-compliance of the standard operating procedures (SOPs) by the school administration.

When contacted, principal of the school said she had been operating academy instead of a school and ensuring full implementation of the SOPs to avoid the coronavirus outbreak at the facility.

“We have to open the school to pay building rent, utility bills and teachers salaries” she said in her self-justified remarks in response to a query how one can open school defying official ban.

The government should extend financial assistance to the private schools as they had been facing financial crunch due to COVID-19 measures and its aftermath impacts. The parents were not paying fee in pretext of the pandemic, she complained.

“We will take action against the reported school shortly,” said Additional Deputy Commissioner-General Omer Randhawa on indication of the issue.
“No academy is allowed to operate in the capital city,” he responded to a query.

The spokesman of the Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Authority (PEIRA) said the authority had not received any such complaints so far.

However, he assured to take action against the school administration for violating the prohibition.

The PEIRA had also been receiving complaints against private schools such as fee hike from the Pakistan Citizen Portal, he added.

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