Residents have set up a temporary school with volunteer teachers
RAWALPINDI:
Families in Sumbul Syedan village, Murree, have withdrawn their daughters from schools recently handed over to NGOs, opting instead to educate them in makeshift tent schools. Unhappy with the former Government Primary Girls School’s privatisation, residents set up a temporary school with volunteer teachers in a tented open area to avoid sending their daughters back to the NGO-operated institution.
A resident, Syed Zafar Abbas said, “No daughter from our village will attend a school that has been privatised. We’ve created this temporary school and plan to construct a permanent structure during Murree’s winter break.”
Due to increased fees and costly books under NGO management, many families have halted their daughters’ education because they cannot bear the financial burden.
“We can’t afford the high fees or buy expensive books, so we had no choice but to stop sending our girls to school,” Abbasi shared. In response, families are pitching in to fund salaries for female teachers at the new tent school, aiming to sustain their daughters’ education.
Azmat Raja, another resident, noted that families have chosen to support this community-led school initiative. “We will ensure our girls get an education by bringing them to the tent school ourselves. The whole community is contributing to pay teachers.”
The Grand Teachers Alliance, represented by leaders such as Rana Liaquat, Malik Amjad, and Shafiq Bhalwalia, warned that the privatisation of government schools is driving up dropout rates. They added that over 27 million children in Punjab are now out of school, with that number projected to rise to 30 million by the end of the year. They also noted the impact on public school admissions, with the latest enrollment phase from August 15 to October 31 showing minimal success.
The Education Department has approved the privatisation of an additional 269 government primary schools in the Rawalpindi division, sparking strong protests from teachers. The list of primary schools for both boys and girls, including 75 in the Rawalpindi district, will be transferred to the Punjab Education Foundation (PEF) and other NGOs by November 14.
This marks the second phase of privatisation, with targeted primary schools where student enrollment ranges from 50 to 100. Following the privatisation of 4,500 schools in the initial phase, the total number of government schools in Punjab has reduced from 47,000 to 42,500. With the privatisation of another 7,950 schools, the number will further drop to 34,550.
Leaders of the Grand Teachers Alliance, including Rana Liaquat, Kashif Shahzad, and Chaudhary Shafiq Bhalwalia, condemned the move, claiming it undermines the public education system. “We are resuming school lockouts from November 2 against privatisation and teacher layoffs. This time, the lockdown will not end until our demands are met,” they stated.
They added that attempts by the government to implement an online Teachers’ Needs Assessment (TNA) test had failed, with no primary teachers participating in recent tests. Teachers plan to hold a sit-in in Lahore next month if their demands are not addressed.
The Alliance leaders further alleged that the government intends to reduce the number of public schools in Punjab to between 10,000 and 12,000, with a corresponding reduction in teachers to between 50,000 and 60,000, potentially resulting in layoffs for 250,000 educators and the sale of 35,000 schools. They warned that these changes could increase the number of street children in Punjab, which has reportedly already risen to 27 million and is projected to reach 30 million by the end of the year.
Article published in the Express Tribune on 1st November 2024
