Hundreds of owners of private schools and colleges took out a rally to protest against the provincial government's anti-private education sector policies, and warned to expand the protest drive across the country, if the authorities concerned didn't resolve issues through dialogue.
On call of Provincial Action Council, the owners of private school and college, along with principals and teaching staff held protest rally from main cantonment to Peshawar Press Club, and blocked main Sher Shah Suri Road for all kind of traffic and staged a 'sit-in'.
The rally was headed by All Pakistan Private School Management Association President Dr Zakir Shah, PEIMA President Yawar Naseer, Director Islami Taleem-e-Nizamat Pakistan, Hidayatullah, Private Education Network President Saleem Khan, and others. The participants holding placards and banners, yelled with anti-provincial government policies toward private education sector. They also raised full-throated slogans in favour of their demands.
Addressing on the occasion, the participants said the provincial government policies had created great unrest among more than 30,000 private education institutions. They blamed the bureaucracy for creating rift between private education institutions and provincial government for fulfilment of their vested interest, which they said, the mission of some bureaucrats could not be accomplished.
The demonstrators further added that the group of few high-officials had attempted to damage the private sector by imposing unilateral policies, but they had failed to do so.
"No one can bring any change in the present education curriculum, to appease few high-officials or fulfilling the foreign agenda," the protesters warned. They asked the provincial government to resolve the issue by holding negotiation with owners of private education institutions. Otherwise, the protest movement would not be restricted only to owners, but would be expanded to students, Ulema and general public.
They criticised that the champion of democracy had taken action against education institutions of those private owners which raised voice against changes in education curriculum on behest of foreign mentors. They said the move was great unrest among the education institutions across the province.
"We want to immediate take-back the decision of de-affiliation of two private education institutions in Abbottabad and Haripur, and should take action against those officials concerned in this regard," they demanded.
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