Afternoon program in Punjab schools on the verge of shutdown

LAHORE: Around 7,000 Insaf Afternoon schools in the Punjab province established for improving literacy rate and managing education infrastructure in an efficient manner are on the verge of shutdown, ARY NEWS reported.

According to provincial education department, the afternoon schools would be closed if funds will not be made available within a month. It has emerged that the teachers have not been paid fees for the past four months.

In 2019, Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar launched ‘Insaf Afternoon Schools’ programme to provide education to the out-of-school children, while reviving Urdu as a medium of instruction, with English as a subject, up to primary level education in the province.

Later in 2020, the Punjab Education Authority decided to establish 100 Insaf schools in Lahore before the start of a new educational session.

According to a notification, 100 schools were set up in rent buildings for which the education authority has approved Rs200 million. The amount was transferred into the accounts of 5 deputies DO’s.

The Excise Department inspected the building before taking it on rent for educational purpose.