Lahore: The Punjab School Education Department has already privatized 4,500 primary schools and has now approved plans to privatize 500 public middle and high schools by the end of November.
Due to their displeasure at this action, educators in Lahore have declared a nationwide sit-in protest.
Advertisements for the middle and high schools that are up for privatization will be released by the department this month.
In the meantime, 4,500 primary schools have already been turned over to private owners, and until November 25, applications are being sought for the sale of an additional 7,500 primary school. 500 high and middle schools will also be on the list for privatization by the end of November.
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By April 1, 2025, the government wants to privatize between 20,000 and 25,000 elementary, middle, and high schools. The reports claimed, the education budget for the 2025–2026 fiscal year is going to be cut by 40–50%, and some 130,000 teachers are anticipated to be transferred to a surplus pool.
Grand Teachers Alliance (GDA) leaders Shafiq Bhalwalia, Rana Liaquat, and Basharat Iqbal Raja have criticized the PML-N-led Punjab government of deprioritizing healthcare and education, pointing to the continuous privatization of essential health facilities.
They caution that the privatization will exacerbate inequality by rendering education unaffordable for the impoverished and the offspring of lower-level government workers.
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Additionally, the GDA leaders pointed out that textbook costs have already increased by 50% and are expected to increase by another 25% come next year. They estimate that by December 31, 2024, Punjab would have more than 30 million children who are not in school.
The GDA reaffirmed that it intends to hold a massive demonstration in Lahore to protest these policies, and it will not stop until its demands are met.
