ISLAMABAD: Owners of private schools in the federal capital of Islamabad yesterday claimed that if the bill in parliament is passed into a law, it would lead to closure of their institutions.
The Islamabad Capital Territory Educational Institutions (Regulation and Promotion) Bill 2007 was approved by the National Assembly on January 23 and is yet to sail through the Senate.
Members of the joint action committee of the private school and college associations at a news conference at the National Press Club said if the bill became a law, over 140,000 children would not be able to continue their education.
Arshad Mehmood, a member, said that in 2006 an ordinance was promulgated to set up a regulatory authority for private schools but it lapsed after four months.
The bill says that if a school is not registered, its owner can be imprisoned for up to one year and fined Rs5,000 daily.
Facilities of laboratory, playground and security would be mandatory for registration of an institution.
However, they cannot be provided by most schools running in residential buildings, Mehmood said.
Malik Abrar, president of the association, said that there were around 1,200 private schools in Islamabad and 90 percent of them had been charging Rs300 to Rs1,000 monthly fees.
They cannot afford to hire a teacher at Rs15,000 monthly salary, he added.
Abrar said that the government should amend the bill and support private educational institutions financially so that they can meet all the requirements.
Internews
