ISLAMABAD: Scores of parents and guardians of students have strongly protested over the closure of Government Girls Primary School located in Gujar Khan tehsil of Rawalpindi, which has reportedly deprived hundreds of female students of the opportunity of acquiring affordable education.

The school was closed some two years ago on the pretext of merging it into a high school.

However, this step by the government authorities has attracted strong backlash in Sanghoori area of Gujar Khan in district Rawalpindi where the school is located.

In this regard, parents/guardians of hundreds of students, who have been affected by the school’s closure, have been gathering at Captain Sarwar Shaheed Road in protest against the school’s continued closure.

Speaking on the occasion, the protestors, on Thursday, said, the school was providing education to hundreds of female children mostly belonging to poor families who could not afford getting their children admitted at private schools.

The protestors have written to provincial government high-ups, including Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervez Elahi, seeking intervention for the reopening of the school.

The protestors also demanded of Commissioner Rawalpindi division, deputy commissioner Rawalpindi, and the chief executive officer (CEO) District Education Authority, Rawalpindi to address the issue at the earliest and take steps for reopening the school.

“This is the only government school in the area that provided education to female students and it has been shut down. I have no option but to get my five-year-old daughter admitted at a private school but I cannot afford the fee,” deplored Amir Khan, one of the protestors, calling upon the government authorities to open the school.

“I am a poor labourer with a daily income of 800 rupees and can’t afford to send my daughter to a private school for education,” he added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022