Islamabad: The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has planned to revise its land allotment policy to shift private school establishments from the city’s residential areas, a news source reported. To this end, the CDA board recently held a meeting at its headquarters – with Member Planning Dr Shahid Mahmood presiding over the session.
Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) Director Planning Tanveer Ahmed, CDA Member Estate Khushal Khan, along with other FDE and Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Authority (PEIRA) officials, also attended the meeting.
According to a CDA-issued statement, the attendants discussed a number of proposals on how to shift the schools from Islamabad’s residential zones. Additionally, they deliberated upon several measures concerned with allotting plots to the schools’ owners.
The statement added that the CDA had devised its policy for land allotment to schools in 2002. It revealed that the authority would revise this agreement to make it more results-oriented and transparent.
The CDA, as such, has asked all stakeholders to submit their recommendations within a week’s timeframe – to allow the civic agency to formulate a well-defined policy framework. It has also directed both the FDE and the PEIRA to submit the complete details on the following queries within this period:
Number of schools in residential areas
Number of student enrolments in each school
Size of the premises being used for each school
Areas where the schools are operating
Based on this data, the CDA would review the size of the plots available for allotment. The civic body also directed the FDE to commence with the schools’ construction on an immediate basis.
CDA spokesperson Syed Safdar Ali proposed to the meeting to allow private schools to carry out evening classes on the premises of the government’s educational institutions that currently only hold morning sessions. He also gave suggestions to enhance the seating capacity of the existing buildings.
The CDA has further asked PEIRA to communicate the details of the parameters and criteria it uses for registering private schools. The civic agency is scheduled to hold a meeting in this regard within two weeks’ time.
