LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Wednesday dismissed multiple identical petitions challenging the outsourcing of government schools in Punjab.

Last month the LHC also passed a detailed judgment dismissing a set of petitions against outsourcing the management of public sector schools through the Punjab Education Foundation (PEF).

“Neither any violation of constitutional guarantee is established nor violation of any provision of The Punjab Free and Compulsory Education Act 2014 is shown,” the court noted in its decision.

Earlier, a law officer explained that non-functional government schools were being outsourced under a public-private partnership model. The lawyer also assured that these outsourced schools would remain under the supervision of the government.

The petitioners Aitzaz Hassan expressed concerns that privatization of government schools might lead to an increase in fees, depriving children from low-income families of access to basic education.

They, therefore, asked the court to declare the government's decision to outsource schools as null and void.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024