Pakistan Realog

LAHORE: Parents of students and members of civil society have expressed differing opinions on the Punjab Government’s decision to reopen educational institutions, with parents claiming the security crisis has not been averted and civil society demanding schools stay open in a symbol of defiance against the terror attacks.

Criticising the move to reopen government and private schools and colleges on Monday, parents of students claimed that no security measures were sufficient to completely prevent the threat of terror attacks against education institutions. They said that if the terrorists could stage attacks on military installations, they could easily bypass the security at educational institutions.

Talking to Daily Times, some parents claimed they were confident that the school administration would have sufficient security to protect their children. However, most parents expressed fear and confusion, with many considering keeping their children home from school until the military operation in South Waziristan had been completed. Commenting on the issue, Shama Hussain – the mother of a young student – said it would be better to keep the educational institutions closed for a few more days, rather than reopening them without properly rooting out the terrorists. She said she would not send her son to school because she did not believe in the security measures taken by the government. She said the government should not reopen the educational institutions until the military operation had concluded.

Confident: Zahid Hussain, an A-Levels student, said the new security measures would make the campus far more secure. However, he added, some of his teachers believed it was an uphill task and terrorists with the capability of attacking military installations could easily attack the school. He claimed teachers at most key educational institutions believed the current measures were not sufficient to assure protection from terror attacks. Muslim Iqbal, the student of an elite university of the city, said the youth of society did not fear extremists or terrorists and were more concerned about their education. He said that while his parents were still afraid of the law and order situation in the country, he and his friends were confident that the security measures would be sufficient. Ahsan Waqqar, a 14-year-old attending one of the more secure private schools of the city, said he was afraid the terrorists would attack his school and would prefer to stay at home for a few more days.

Collective resistance: Meanwhile, prominent human rights activist Hina Jillani appreciated the government’s decision to reopen the schools, colleges and universities in the country. She said that while the threats of terror attacks had not been removed, it was not suitable for the educational institutes of the country to remain closed for an extended period of time. She said all the educational institutes should remain open to show a collective resistance against extremism.

Source: Daily Times

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