Gilgit (C.R.Akbar Shah): Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly had passed the Private Schools Regulatory Authority Bill during the time of the PML(N) government. The bill was sent to the then Governor GB, Raja Jalal, for approval. However, the bill is still pending in the governor’s secretariat.
Raja Jalal Maqpoon resorted to delaying tactics and left it unattended till his resignation as governor of GB. The bill is still pending in the governor’s secretariate leaving the private educational institutions at liberty. According to sources, the former governor was influenced not to sign the bill by a private-sector education mafia.
The bill was aimed at checking the exploitation of the employees and proper regulation of private schools in accord with a defined code of conduct. Consequently, the private schools function per their own commercial business interests only.
Currently, private educational institutions are not under the regulation of the education departments. They increase fees on their own without any check from the education department. Prices of books, stationery, and other educational accessories for basic and secondary needs have also gone out of the affordability of parents.
Recently private sector schools have increased their fees by 40% making it unbearable for parents to bear. Parents enroll their children in private schools mainly because of the pathetic academic performance of public sector schools.
Approval and implementation of the pending bill would have acted as a check on excesses of private schools. The post of the governor is vacant for the last two months creating a number of problems in the daily execution of public affairs.
