Many private schools await registration in Rawalpindi

In the Twin City, the District Education Authority (DEA) has completely failed to regulate private schools and to ensure smooth and hassle-free registration processes. All private school organizations are therefore wary of the governing authority.

The DEA is awaiting registration applications for 1,240 educational institutions, but hasn't been able to register even one school in 2022. Registration authority meetings were reportedly only about formalities.

Numerous private schools were operating without approval due to the non-issuance of registration certificates.

According to official documents, there are 2,500 private schools in the district, but in reality there are 5,500 schools. There are 1,850 government schools.

A private school's registration application cannot be decided by the registration authority after 60 days after receiving the application from the owner under the Schools Registration Act.

Even though citizens have been awaiting school registration applications for the past 10 to 15 months, not a single school has been registered.

Due to his hectic schedule, the Deputy Commissioner has not attended even a single meeting over the last year.

In his absence, a female additional commissioner attends the committee's meetings, but only for refreshments. In Rawalpindi, this led to the collapse of the private school registration system.

Despite the fact that private schools are preparing to open admissions as early as February 1st, most of them have not yet registered. In addition, private schools have not yet benefited from the online registration benefits introduced by the regime of Punjab's former Chief Minister, Usman Buzdar.

The president of the Rawalpindi district wing of the All Pakistan Private Schools Management Association, Sakina Taj, member of the Education Board Board of Governors, and the district president, Abrar Ahmed Advocate, said the registration process was going well in 36 districts across Punjab.

For high schools, the registration fee is Rs. 9,000, for middle schools Rs. 6,000; while for re-payment it is Rs. 2,000 for high schools and Rs. 1,000 for middle schools.