By Sidra Kausary (Pakdestiny.com) After APS and Bacha Khan University Attack, now whole nation feel scared while sending their kids to get the education. The recent horrible attack on a university in Charsadda, schools was shut down in Punjab. It was said that due to extremely cold weather schools were closed but sources said that many educational institutes are under threat.
Week long vacations end in public schools, but parents are still not sure to send their children to get the education in such circumstances or not.
While the All-Pakistan Private Schools Federation (APPSF) announced on Sunday that private schools would reopen across Punjab on Monday if the provincial government met two key demands by the association.
Announcing the ‘conditional’ offer after meeting Punjab Education Minister Rana Mashhood, APPSF president Kashif Mirza told on national news channels, “We have asked the government of Punjab to withdraw all the FIRs against private school owners and to provide security to all private schools across the province.”
Later on, the talks between both parties succeed and all private and government schools across Punjab reopened on Monday. Though some of the private schools were persistent over their demands and they did not follow the orders, but later on it was mutually decided to open schools on Tuesday.
Punjab Education Minister Rana Mashood met the delegation of All Pakistan Private Schools Federation and assured them that all necessary measurements had been taken for schools to reopen.
After the meeting, the minister told the media that a new standing operating procedure (SOP) had been issued regarding schools’ security. A committee had been formed to monitor the SOP’s implementation, he added.
While before the talks, the Punjab government issued standard operating procedures (SOPs) regarding security arrangements in education institutions and claimed to have completed arrangements.
There are contradictory claims that no substantial security measures have been adopted except for raising walls, installing wires and CCTV cameras and deploying security guards.
Security measures cannot stop a terrorist attack, as the Army Public School Peshawar had much more security than a common school,” said the father of a student. He added he would not be sending his children to school and see how the day goes.
There are more than 100 public schools without boundary walls in the district. The administration said it would take around three months to raise walls.
Likewise, police sealed two major educational institutions in Bahawalpur several others in Rahim Yar Khan District due to insufficient security arrangements.
Parents of children are not sure that the arrangements are sufficient and satisfactory but they are worried about their children’s future. They are not sure how long this will continue. -Pakdestiny.com