Islamabad - Parents Association of School Students (PASS) has suggested measures to the government to generate income resources for the promotion of education by cancelling contracts of all canteens being run by private contractors at educational institutions and hand them over to the administration of the institutions.
The move will create employment opportunities in the government sector, generate money in addition to the funds allocated by the government for education sector and ensure health protection of the students. This was pondered over in a meeting of an executive body of PASS presided over by its president Pir Muradiya here on Sunday.
“Being parents of students, we are the stakeholders of the teachers, Capital Administration Development Division (CADD), Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training and all the other educational institutions, which are directly or indirectly related to the promotion of education,” the president of PASS told the meeting.
He said the PASS is concerned with the challenges and issues the educational institutions are facing in form of shortage of funds, non-payment of salaries to the daily wagers, students’ rights etc.
It was suggested in the meeting of PASS that Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) should set up tuck shops at all educational institutions in Islamabad and employ regular persons to run the canteens or tuck shops. The services of women should be hired for female institutions.
A supervisory committee should be formed at the educational intuitions headed by its principal to look after all the affairs of that tuck shop and ensure quality of food items, the suggestions include.
The PASS is of the view that millions of rupees can be earned per month from the proposed tuck shops to be set up at 423 educational institutions under Federal Directorate of Education where 200,000 students are getting education.
The PASS thinks that the earned money can be spent for the maintenance of the educational institutions, extracurricular activities of the students, scholarships for the excelling students, bonuses for the teachers and salaries for the daily wagers easily.
This amount can also help execute delaying projects including construction of 200 computer labs in high schools, establishment and uplift of eight schools and uplift of Islamabad Model School for Boys G-11/2 and Islamabad Model College for Boys G-6/4, it added.
The parents of school students have always been complaining about the different ailments of their children including throat infections and stomach problems following sale of substandard and non-branded edible items being sold without having expiry dates at canteens run by private contractors.
The PASS maintained that administrations of Islamabad Model College for Girls, F-10/2 and Islamabad College for Girls, F-6/2 had to cancel recently the contracts of canteens for selling substandard edible food items. The canteens of these colleges should be handed over to the concerned colleges’ administration.