RAWALPINDI: The education department on Monday made the reopening of 132 schools in the city conditional upon completion of security arrangements.

Earlier, all schools in the districtwere to reopen on January 12.

However, 132 schools have been identified as being sensitive in terms of security and their administrators have been directed to make recommended security arrangements, otherwise they will not be allowed to reopen after winter holidays.

Across the province, all educational institutions have been closed due to fears of security in light of the attack on Army Public School in Peshawar.

Executive District Education Officer Qazi Zahoorul Haq told Dawn that schools have been directed to take security measures and then submit a report to his of fice on January 10.After receiving reports, a team will visit the schools to check the arrangements made and if they are found satisfactory, a certificate allowing reopening will be issued.

The EDO said if a school fails to take adequate security measures, First Information Reports (FIRs) will be lodged against the administrators in case of a private school and in case of a government-run school, the principal will face disciplinary action under Punjab Employees, Efficiency, Discipline and Accountability, Act.

The EDO said these schools fall in category-A which is the highest in terms of security.

He said heads of these schools have been directed to raise bound-ary walls to eight feet and to deploy armed watchmen. They have also been directed to install Close Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras and make entrance zigzag using concrete barriers.

The meeting was headed by EDO Qazi Zahoorul Haq and attended by representatives of private schools, heads of selected government schools and deputy education officers.

The EDO said schools should utilise their own funds for security arrangements. `If required, we will provide funding to the governmentrun schools,` the EDO said.

Duringthemeeting,Headmasters Associations President Chaudhry Sagheer Alam and Abrar Ahmed,Private School Association president, assured the education department that their schools will talce all possible steps to ensure foolproof security for students.

They demanded that the EDO direct Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) Rawalpindi to reschedule matriculation examinations.

The EDO assured them that he will take up this issue with the chairman of BISE.

Talking to Dawn, Chaudhry Sagheer Alam said: `Over 20 days that would have been spent studying have been wasted because schools had to be closed. So annual exams should be postponed,` he said.