PESHAWAR: Peshawar High Court has ordered Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to release Rs78 million grant-inaid to a financial crisis-stricken Peshawar Public School and College (PPSC), once a leading institute of the propvincial capital.

A bench consisting of Justice Syed Mohammad Attique Shah and Justice Sahibzada Asadullah issued the order after hearing the representatives of education, establishment and finance departments.

The bench ordered to release the said money to the PPSC within a fortnight and share the report with the court.

The bench adjourned hearingto Feb 11 of a petition jointly filed by employees of Peshawar Public School and College, managed by the elementary and secondary education department, which has presently been facing severe financial crisis and had not been able to pay salaries to the employees for last many months.

Advocate Nauman Muhib Kakakhel appeared for the petitioners and stated that the school was doing well financially, however, its board of governors merged the financially weak girls branch of the same school with it hence the income of the school and its savings were used to finance the girls branch.

The counsel argued that the BoG while merging the schools also decided to move a summary to the government forissuance of Rs100 million as grant-in-aid.

He stated that the government had approved the said grant-in-aid and had paid Rs22 million to the school. However, he added that since 2022 not a single penny was paid, which had put the boys branch in financial crisis.

Justice Attique Shah observed that it was the governments job to maintain these schools but instead of taking care of it, they merged these institutions and forced them into financial crisis.

The bench had also summoned the relevant secretaries, who gave the latest updates on the matter.

During course of hearing the bench remarked that Peshawar Public School used to be a verygood institution; what had happened to it now? The bench inquired why the condition of the school had deteriorated so much? The special secretary for education, Qaiser Alam, explained that economic problems were due to low enrollment in the school, which had a capacity of 6,000 students but currently only 2,000 were enrolled.

He mentioned that the board of governors was overseeing the school`s affairs and that a committee had now been formed to address this matter.

He further stated that the school was incurring a monthly loss of Rs8.1 million.

An official of the finance department informed the court that the requested funds would be released after cabinet`s approval.