MANSEHRA: The private schools in H azara division on Thursday asked the government not to put a watchdog for them in place without their consultation.

`The government should take us (private educational institutions) into confidence before creating a regulatory authority for us. If the creation of such a body is necessary, then it should be set up at educational board level and not for the entire province,` Mansehra Public Schools principal Umar Khan Swati told reporters here after a meeting of the owners of private educational institutions in Mansehra, Abbottabad and Haripur here.

The meeting was called to evolve a joint strategy on the issue of the KP Private Schools Regulatory Authority.The participants also approved a proposal for the formation of an action council having representation of three districts to take up the reservations about the proposed legislation with the relevant authorities for necessary action.

`We have unanimously decided that the proposed schools regulatory authority should not be centralised. Instead, it should be established at the board of intermediate and secondary education level,` said Mr Swati.

He said the proposed watchdog should be headed by an educationist and not education minister with political ends to serve.

Mr Swati also demanded the government withdraw its decision to hold fifth and eighth grade examinations through education boards.

`If educational boards are already conducting examinations of ninth and tenth grades, the holding of fifth and ninth grade exams, too, through boards is not a viable option. The government should reconsider this decision,` he said.

The participants authorised the action council to consult educational bodies in Peshawar, Malakand and other divisions to adopt a unanimous stand on the matter.

ENMITY CLAIMS LIFE: A girl was killedover an old enmity in Pershryal area of Lower Kohistan on Thursday.

The girl was harvesting wheat crop in her field when two members of a rival group opened indiscriminate fire on her killing her instantly.

The local residents insisted it was a rare incident in Kohistan, where the people usually don`t kill women of rival groups over disputes.

The prolonged enmity between the two groups over land has already claimed many lives.

The Palas police registered an FIR and began investigation into the killing.

The suspected killers fled af ter the firing.

PRESSURE HORNS DESTROYED: The traffic police destroyed pressure horns and `open` silencers removed from vehicles during an ongoing crackdown on Thursday.

A road roller was used for the exercise carried out in the presence of civiljudge Shiraz Firdous.

Traffic police chief Jamal Zeb told reporters that the crackdown on vehicles and motorcycles spreading noise pollution would continue.

He said such noise polluters were first given warnings and then handed down fine.