Islamabad (City Reporter): Central President of the All Pakistan Private Schools and Colleges Association (APSCA), Dr. Abrar Hussain Malik, said that education must be given a prominent place among national priorities for Pakistan’s development and prosperity.

He said that the government and private sector must take effective joint measures to encourage private educational institutions, provide training to teachers, and bring out-of-school children into the education system.

He expressed these views at a meeting chaired by APSCA Punjab Patron-in-Chief Qazi Zahoor-ul-Haq. Secretary General Muhammad Ashraf Haraj, Dr. Rukhsana Khan, Punjab General Secretary Sajid Ilyas Chaudhry, Rawalpindi Divisional President Irfan Muzaffar Kiyani, District Presidents Tahir Khan Durrani, Safdar Malik, Malik Hafeez-ur-Rehman, and other office-bearers attended the meeting.

Dr. Abrar Hussain Malik said that the association would further strengthen its activities aimed at promoting education, supporting students, providing teacher training, and highlighting the services of heads of educational institutions. He also paid tribute to Sajid Ilyas Chaudhry and all other participants for their services to education.

Sajid Ilyas Chaudhry said that sealing private educational institutions in Rahim Yar Khan was illegal and an anti-education measure. He called for resolving the issue through negotiations so that students do not suffer academically.

Irfan Muzaffar Kiyani demanded that educational institutions in Rawalpindi and other cities of Punjab be reopened immediately, as has been done in Islamabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Sindh. He said that pushing Punjab toward educational backwardness would not be acceptable under any circumstances.

The participants of the meeting urged the government to encourage private educational institutions and take effective measures to increase the literacy rate in the country.