Former KP government accused of weakening school laws after Peshawar school roof collapse
PESHAWAR: The former PTI-led Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has been accused of weakening private school regulations to protect institutions linked to political leaders, following the deadly Peshawar school roof collapse earlier this week.
According to a report citing unnamed sources, Section 22(4) of the provincial private schools regulatory law, notified on June 9, 2017, empowered the authorities to close or seal schools over violations, including operating without registration.
The report claims that an amendment on June 23, 2017, just two weeks later, removed that provision and limited the government’s action to fines. Sources alleged the change was made at the request of then-assembly speaker Asad Qaiser and other leaders with private educational institutions, and that it benefited businesses associated with Qaiser, Mushtaq Ghani and others.
The Peshawar school roof collapse that triggered the claims
The allegations surfaced after the October 15 collapse at Al-Khair Education Center in Peshawar’s Dir Colony. Subsequent reporting put the death toll at 30 children and a female teacher, with 52 people injured.
Police arrested school owner Khan Muhammad over alleged construction defects. The FIR alleges that the management ignored complaints about deteriorating walls and roofs. Khan Muhammad blamed rainfall for the collapse, while education officials described the building as dilapidated.
We covered the collapse and the official response, including the UN visit and the provincial safety plan, in our earlier report on the Peshawar school tragedy.
A provincial inquiry is examining the collapse, and authorities have since announced inspections of public and private schools across KP. Punjab has separately ordered safety inspections of all private schools in the wake of the tragedy.
What the 2017 law change allegedly did
The core of the allegation is a 14-day window in June 2017. On June 9, the provincial private schools regulatory law gave the government the power to shut down or seal schools found violating the rules, including schools running without registration.
On June 23, according to the report, an amendment stripped out the closure power, leaving fines as the only penalty. The sources cited in the report allege the amendment was pushed through at the request of then-speaker Asad Qaiser and other political figures who owned or were linked to private schools.
If accurate, the change would mean that for nearly a decade, the KP government could fine a dangerous or unregistered school but could not close it. Fines, unlike closure orders, can be absorbed as a cost of doing business, which is precisely the argument the report’s sources appear to be making.
It is important to note that these are allegations attributed to unnamed sources in a single report. Neither Asad Qaiser nor Mushtaq Ghani has been quoted responding to the claims in the reporting so far.
Why this matters beyond one school
The Peshawar school roof collapse has already become one of the deadliest school disasters in the province’s recent history. Thirty children dead in a classroom is the kind of tragedy that forces a reckoning with the system that allowed the building to stay open.
The question now is whether the problem was a single negligent owner or a regulatory framework designed to look the other way. The FIR against Khan Muhammad focuses on construction defects and ignored complaints. The new allegations point higher, at the rules themselves.
The provincial inquiry will have to answer both questions: why this particular building was allowed to operate in a dilapidated state, and whether the 2017 amendment genuinely tied the hands of the regulators who should have shut it down.
The original reporting on this development was published by ProPakistani.
FAQ
What is the allegation against the former KP government?
Unnamed sources cited in a report allege the former PTI-led KP government amended the private schools regulatory law in June 2017 to remove the government’s power to close or seal violating schools, leaving only fines.
Who allegedly benefited from the 2017 amendment?
The report’s sources allege the change was made at the request of then-assembly speaker Asad Qaiser and other leaders, benefiting businesses associated with Qaiser, Mushtaq Ghani and others.
How many people died in the Peshawar school roof collapse?
Subsequent reporting put the death toll at 30 children and a female teacher, with 52 people injured in the October 15 collapse at Al-Khair Education Center in Dir Colony.
What action has been taken since the collapse?
Police arrested school owner Khan Muhammad, a provincial inquiry is under way, and authorities have announced inspections of public and private schools across KP.
