Punjab's Education Department cleared the fourth phase of its school outsourcing initiative, incorporating 600 high schools into the plan for the initial time.
This latest phase encompasses 6,460 total institutions, which includes 5,860 primary and middle schools. Authorities also decided to shut down facilities that have student enrollments of up to 100 students. Across the previous three phases, the department already outsourced 13,600 schools.
Officials instructed government schools to keep processing admissions through October 31 and halt new student enrollments beginning November 1. Headmasters received orders to wrap up all admissions by that final date.
Parents and teachers' associations strongly denounced the move and demanded its immediate cancellation. Sufi Ramzan Inqalabi, who serves as Central President of the Punjab Teachers Union, joined Education Pensioners Association Secretary Shafiq Bhalwalia and former Headmasters Association President Dr. Sagheer Alam in stating that previous outsourcing led to higher dropout rates among children.
The leaders cautioned that bringing high schools into the scheme might compel numerous rural girls to drop out of school. They asked officials to safeguard the high schools instead, pointing to their large campuses and infrastructure.
Teacher associations announced plans to organize demonstrations alongside non-teaching staff unions. They further cautioned that upcoming phases might label regular educators as surplus and substitute them with daily-wage workers receiving fixed lump-sum pay.
