ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday rejected a petition filed by private school owners seeking the reopening of private schools across the country from Aug 15.

A single bench of Chief Justice Athar Minallah heard the petition and observed that it is the govt's job to formulate a policy on the matter, and the court would not interfere in it.

The IHC bench added that the elected government was answerable to the people and the government would take a decision after assessing the situation. The All Pakistan Private Schools' Association had last week announced to open schools from Aug 15 defying the government's orders that said schools would be allowed to open from Sep 15 provided Covid-19 cases continued to decline. The private school owners approached the high court to get an order in this regard saying that the closure of schools, enforced in March to curtail the pandemic, has been a financial blow for them.

Responding to the petition, Justice Minallah observed that the government was also looking into the matter and the court could not interfere in a matter, which was out of its jurisdiction.

The IHC bench further directed the petitioners to approach the relevant forum, before disposing of the petition. During the hearing, the petitioners' lawyer adopted that all the educational institutes have remained shut in the past months due to coronavirus pandemic.

He further said that that had led to problems for school owners but the government did not care. He added that appeals had been made but no decision had been taken yet.

Justice Minallah remarked that it was not just school owners but also students' education that was being affected.

He added that it would be incorrect to say that the matter had not come to the government's attention. Educational institutes in the country have been shut since the pandemic hit the country in efforts to contain the spread of the virus, and to ensure protection of the students.

The provincial education ministers, on July 8th, had agreed to reopen all educational intuitions across the country in the first week of September.

However, the All Pakistan Private Schools and Colleges Association (APPSCA) on July 20th had announced, reopening of educational institutes from August 15 across the country.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020