Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has banned the use of schools and colleges in Islamabad for accommodating police and security personnel during law and order situations. He has also directed authorities to stop assigning teachers non-teaching duties, providing relief to educational institutions and teaching staff across the federal capital.
The directives were issued during a meeting on Islamabad’s education sector. Following the meeting, the Prime Minister’s Office sent written instructions to the Ministry of Education, which formally communicated the decisions to the Islamabad administration and police. Under the new orders, buildings, classrooms and other facilities operated by the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) cannot be used for police deployment, temporary camps, detention facilities or other security operations.
The prime minister also ordered the cancellation of non-teaching responsibilities assigned to teachers, including election duties, census operations and household surveys. The Ministry of Education has directed authorities to immediately withdraw all such assignments.
The decision comes after 38 public-sector schools and colleges in Islamabad were closed for one to three weeks in September to accommodate police personnel ahead of an anticipated Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) protest. According to an FDE official, police began occupying these institutions on September 24, disrupting classes and affecting thousands of students.
