Daily Times

PESHAWAR: The Private Education Network (PEN) has expressed concern over disaffiliation of two private schools in Hazara division and gave one week deadline to provincial government for restoration affiliation of the institutions otherwise teachers, parents and students of all private schools will come to streets in protest.

Addressing a press conference at Peshawar Press Club on Thursday PEN Provincial President Saleem Khan said that he had objected to changes in the syllabus and also opposed the government’s plan regarding assessment of grade 5 students and thus his schools affiliation with Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education Abbottabad was severed.

Flanked by office bearers of PEN, including Vice President Amjad Ali Shah, Atta-ur-Rahman advocate, Fazlullah Daudzai, Sawab Khan, Dr Zakir he said that another school owned by Tahir Afridi, general secretary of the PEN was also disaffiliated in Haripur on malafide intentions. “We have already rejected the action taken by the Abbottabad boar and will move to court against it. In addition, we will launch country-wide movement against it as it relates to future of students, jobs of staff,” he warned.

Saleem said that the Private Education Network had already raised voice against the changes in syllabus and would take unified stand in this regard and that was why the government wanted to pressurize the educationists through such tactics in order to stop objections to the changes.

Many of the changes in syllabus, he claimed related religion, Islamic history, national interests and thus the owners of private educational institutions could not remain silent in such a situation. He suggested that the grade 5th assessment should be introduced in government-run schools as pilot project to see its results and then it would be followed by the private institutions. Similarly, he said that Punjab a largest populated province had already made the assessment as optional for private institutions to avoid complications.

Reading habit: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Minister for Elementary Education Atif Khan has said that Pakistan Tehrik Insaf (PTI) led Provincial Government focused to keep keep reading habit alive among students and youth of KP through a scientific approach of launching and supporting literary projects throughout the province.

The Minister was addressing as chief guest the closing ceremony of RCP at Executive Club on Thursday organized by Human Development Foundation (HDF) in Mardan.

They also addressed to the gathering attended by people belong to different walks of life including students, Teacher District Council member and elders of the community.

The Minister was informed by the Chief Executive HDF that USAID funded Pakistan Reading Project in first phase selected 20 male and female schools for highlighting the scope of reading in government school students of District Mardan.

They were thought to read books for which special story books along facility were provided to project the need of learning among the students.

He said the results were fruitful and certain Reading Projects would be enhanced to encourage the habit of reading among students of different schools. In this project the students will not only bend their interests towards reading but also the habit of reading would find a rebirth in the most preferred age of learning, he added.

The Minister congratulated the work and struggle of HDF and praised the core intention behind Pakistan Reading Project. He said the Organization has worked efficiently to enlighten the need of reading in the students.