Private campuses reopen, defy govt orders
Lahore: Challenging the writ of the government once again, private schools have opened their campuses, ignoring the government’s notification according to which all private and government schools were scheduled to reopen after September 9.

Some private schools had opened their campuses on August 16 while many leading private schools reopened on August 20, Friday, with examination schedule starting from August 23, Monday.

A notification of School Education Department, Punjab, issued on May 31, a copy available with The News, clearly mentions that schedule of summer vacation would be observed in all the schools (government/privately managed) in Punjab w.e.f June 1 to September 9.

It is pertinent to mention that most of the leading private schools had also defied the government’s notification by not observing the summer holidays from the day fixed by the government in June this year.

The stakeholders are quite critical of the government’s inability to bring private sector under some kind of control as, over the years, they have been demanding a regulatory body for private schools but to no avail.

It is important to note here that many of the private schools have opened campuses in the name of summer camps duly allowed by the Punjab government in June, 2010.

The Lahore Literati is among those private schools that opened their campuses on Friday while Esna Foundation, Fairfield High School and many other schools have informed parents about reopening of their schools from 23 August.

According to the government, the decision to allow private schools for summer camps was taken in the wake of extended summer vacation as compared to previous years, adoption of five days week and squeezed academic session.

The stakeholders also argued that the government had failed to ensure uniformity with regard to syllabus followed by private and public sector schools but it was pathetic that the government could not ensure uniformity in working of schools.

The News could not reach Schools secretary Muhammad Aslam Kamboh for comments.

When contacted, EDO Education Dr Muhammad Arshad said the government had taken strict notice of private schools’ not following its directive and opening up campuses before the announced schedule.

“All such schools are being closed”, Dr Muhammad Arshad said, adding that the people should contact EDO Education Office in case they have any complaints against private educational institutes. The news

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