LAKKI MARWAT/MARDAN: Owners and heads of private educational institutions demonstrated in Lakki Marwat and Mardan on Saturday against the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Private Schools Regulatory Authority Bill, which is set to be made into law by the provincial assembly.

In Lakki city, the local chapter of Private Education Network (PEN) led by its president Hafiz Latif Ahmad Jan and general secretary Irfanullah took out a procession from Faiz Model High School in Haqdad Abad locality.

The protesters marched on Lakki-DaraTang and Old Kachery Roads and converged outside the press club. They carried banners and placards inscribed with slogans highlighting their demands.

On the occasion, the PEN leaders termed the bill a black law and said that the government, by enforcing the legislation, wanted to grab the administrative and financial powers of the pri-vate educationalinstitutions.

`Instead of promulgating the law the government should focus on improving the standard of public sector schools,` said Irfanullah. He said the discriminatory approach of the government towards private schools was not acceptable.

`The bill will destroy the private education sector in the province,` said Latif Ahmad Jan, adding after failing to provide education to children through public sector the government was now trying to destroy the private sector education system.

He said the owners and heads of private schools would have no option but to close their schools if government did not withdraw the bill.

In Mardan, scores of protesters, led by provincial president of Private Schools Management Association (PSMA) Saleem Khan and general secretary Ataur Rehman held a demonstration outside the Mardan Press Club.

It is worth mentioning here that the PSMA is demanding of the provincial government toreactivate the 25-member committee regarding private educational institutions constituted under an ordinancein 2002.

Addressing the participants, Saleem Khan rejected the bill as it was prepared without taking the PSMA on board.

He said they would not let the provincial government to take decisions about fate of 27,000 private educational organisations without taking them into confidence.

Mr Khan announced that the PSMA would hold protest sit-in in front of provincial assembly on May 16 and then all the private educational bodies would hold demonstrations on May 19 and 20 across the province to press the government to withdraw the legislation.

Imad Akbar, leader of private schools association, termed the bill as a black law, and asked the provincial education minister Mohammad Atif Khan to avoid confrontation with owners and administration of private schools.

He alleged the education minister was going to hand over the private education system in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to the foreign NGOs.