Punjab Assembly’s Standing Committee on School Education has given private schools 10 days to implement the legally mandated quota of providing free education to 10 percent of students, warning that institutions failing to comply could lose their licences.
The directive was issued during a committee meeting reviewing enforcement of the legal requirement, which members said had not been properly implemented across private schools.
Committee members also raised concerns over the accuracy of compliance data submitted by schools and recommended that the School Education Department, rather than individual institutions, should identify and enrol deserving children under the quota to allow independent verification of implementation.
The proposal, members said, would make it easier for the government to monitor whether eligible children were actually receiving free education instead of relying solely on figures reported by private schools.
Chairing the meeting, the committee head instructed the authorities to initiate action against schools that ignore the requirement, including cancellation of their licences.
Responding to the committee’s concerns, the School Education secretary said the department would gather information from all private schools on the implementation of the mandatory 10 percent free education quota.
The meeting centred on enforcement of an existing legal obligation requiring private schools to reserve free places for a portion of their students.
Members stressed that stronger government oversight was needed to ensure the provision was implemented effectively and that its intended beneficiaries were receiving admission.
The committee directed the School Education Department to complete the process of monitoring compliance while requiring all private schools to fulfil the legal obligation within the deadline.
