School associations to stage sit-in tomorrow

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Council of All Pakistan Schools and Colleges Association (APSCA) has announced a peaceful sit-in at the Constitutional Avenue in the federal capital on April 6 (tomorrow), demanding the reopening of schools from April 11. The council’s convener, Dr Muhammad Afzal Babar, stated this in a presser held on Sunday.

The representatives present at the occasion maintained that educational institutions were not responsible for the spread of coronavirus in the federal capital. They questioned how come the virus has continued to spread now that educational institutions are closed, adding that there was no point in keeping them closed when everything else is still open.

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Dr Babar implored the government to save the education sector from further devastation and save millions of teachers and other people associated with the sector from unemployment.

The supreme council members asserted that teachers, students, parents, members of civil society, drivers, and others would join the peaceful sit-in on Tuesday.

The officials commented that around 25,000 private educational institutions across the country have permanently shut down due to closing down of schools amid the pandemic. They complained that the government has not yet developed a program to rehabilitate private educational institutions instead they are expected to pay utility bills while being imposed with different taxes.

The council members cited a report compiled by the bureau of statistics according to which the number of out-of-school children in Pakistan has jumped from 15 million to 38 million. They clarified that they did not have any political agenda but the protest would only be for the betterment of the education sector.

Moreover, National Association of Private Schools (NAPS) President Chaudhry Obaidullah demanded the vaccination of teachers. He expressed concerns that schools in half of the country were open while they were closed in nine districts of Punjab only.

Obaidullah said those not going to schools will be left behind and would not be able to acquire a good percentage in their board examinations. He expressed that the students’ future was being destroyed while the markets and bazaars enjoyed complete amenity staying open through the deadly third wave of the virus.

The official demanded that matriculation exams must be held on May 4 as per the announced schedule and called for financial assistance for educational institutions that were closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Obaidullah reiterated the demand for the reopening of schools from April 11 under all relevant standard operating procedures (SOPs).

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Furthermore, the council demanded to defer the implementation of a single national curriculum this year. The association forewarned that if the government resorts to violence through the use of police, the Islamabad administration will be responsible for the consequences.

Previously, the private school and college associations had postponed their nationwide ‘Save Education’ long march scheduled for March 31 after negotiations with the administration.